I 

t 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


Drawn  from  tbe  ©ospel  for  JEacb 
Dag  of  Xent 


THE  RIGHT  REV.  F.  K.  AMHERST 


Bishop  of  Northampton 


i 


FOURTH  EDITION 


hqsTON  ALLEGE 
CHKSTNU'l  HILL  MASS* 


R.  & T.  WASHBOURNE,  LTD. 
i,  2 & 4,  PATERNOSTER  ROW,  LONDON 
BENZIGER  BROTHERS 
NEW  YORK,  CINCINNATI  & CHICAGO 
1906 


3>Ui  fa. 
> i\f 


Ntf)tl  ofcstat. 

RICARDUS  A.  O’GORMAN,  O.S.A., 
Censor  Deputatus. 

Emprtmt  potest. 

GULIELMUS  PROPOSITUS  JOHNSON, 


Vicarius  Generalis. 


Westmonasterii, 

Die  20  Feb.,  1906. 


INTRODUCTION. 


I have  often  heard  a wish  expressed  that 
there  existed  some  small  book  which  might 
supply  matter  for  meditation  during  Lent, 
and  a further  desire  that  such  matter  might 
be  drawn  from  the  portions  of  the  Gospels 
which  occur  in  the  Mass  during  that  season. 
I have  endeavoured,  however  inadequately, 
to  supply  the  want  of  such  a book.  I do 
not  pretend  to  have  written  anything  new  or 
complete,  and  my  endeavour  has  simply  been 
to  bring  together  such  thoughts  as  naturally 
arise  from  the  contemplation  of  the  subjects, 
and  which  may  be  rather  suggestive  than 
exhaustive. 

The  little  book  has  been  written  chiefly  for 
the  use  of  those  who  require  some  aid  to 
meditation,  and  who  find  it  difficult,  with- 
out some  such  help,  to  concentrate  their 
thoughts  upon  a spiritual  subject.  It  does 


IV 


INTRODUCTION 


not  pretend  to  be  a regular  course  of  medita- 
tions, but,  as  will  be  seen,  it  is  of  a desultory 
nature,  containing  some  repetition,  and  per- 
haps even  what  may  appear  redundant.  Such 
as  it  is,  and  with  whatever  defects  it  may 
have,  I give  it  to  the  public,  with  the  hope 
and  prayer  that  it  may  help  some  souls  to 
love  Jesus  Christ  more,  and  for  His  sake  to 
endeavour  to  sanctify  themselves. 

►J*  Francis  Kerril  Amherst. 


LENTEN  THOUGTHS 


MEDITATION. 

^ak en  from  the  ©espei  for  JUh- 
SMebnesiaj). 

St.  Matt.  vi.  16-21. 

Picture  to  yourself  our  blessed  Lord  sitting 
upon  the  Mount ; His  disciples  near  Him, 
listening  eagerly  to  Him,  and  directing  the 
attention  of  others  to  Him.  See  also  the 
multitude  of  people  who  had  followed  Him 
from  various  parts,  earnestly  drinking  in  His 
heavenly  teaching;  and  listen  to  His  words 
in  spirit,  trying  to  feel  as  if  you  were  there. 
‘When  you  fast,  be  not  as  the  hypocrites, 
sad  ? (St.  Matt.  vi.  16). 

1. 

How  sweet  it  is  to  hear  our  dear  Lord 
encouraging  us  to  cheerfulness,  even  in  the 
performance  of  a penitential  act  ! We  may 
be  quite  sure  that  He  does  not  recommend 


6 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


a worldly  gaiety ; for  let  us  look  upon  His 
dear  face,  and  there  we  shall  see  no  signs  of 
it ; but  in  the  place  of  it  a sweet  heavenly 
serenity,  captivating  even  to  the  senses,  and 
how  much  more  so  to  the  pure  heart  that 
enters,  or  tries  to  enter,  into  His  feelings. 

ii. 

May  we  never  be  sad?  We  may,  but  not 
on  account  of  the  performance  of  any  act  of 
religion.  True  Christian  sadness  proceeds 
only  from  the  contemplation  of  our  sins,  and 
is  to  be  distinguished  from  that  grief  which 
arises  from  wounded  affections,  or  from  sym- 
pathy with  others.  Jesus  wept  when  Lazarus 
died ; but  He  was  truly  sad  in  the  Garden  of 
Gethsemane,  when  the  sins  of  the  whole  world 
came  like  spectres  before  His  sight,  and  were 
heaped  upon  His  sacred  and  pure  soul,  and 
seemed  as  if  they  were  His  own. 

hi. 

Sadness  in  religion  is  opposed  to  the  Spirit 
of  God.  ‘ Serve  ye  the  Lord  with  joy.’ 
‘ Come  in  before  His  presence  with  exceed- 
ing great  joy.’ 

It  is  equally  opposed  to  the  spirit  of  the 
Catholic  Church,  and  is  detestable  when 
united  with  hypocrisy.  The  Saints  were 
cheerful  and  serene. 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


7 


Do  we  accept  the  command  to  fast  with- 
out sadness  ? Do  we  not  grumble  and  com- 
plain of  its  hardness  ? Are  we  truly  sad  at 
the  sight  and  thought  of  our  sins  ? And  do 
we  not  let  all  sorts  of  little  miseries  make  us 
sad,  even  so  much  so  as  to  prevent  us  from 
doing  our  duty  properly  ? If  we  find  any 
fault  in  these  respects  in  ourselves,  let  us 
now  resolve  to  amend,  and  to  spend  this 
Lent  as  we  would  do  if  we  were  in  the 
visible  company  of  our  Lord.  Jesus,  aid  me 
by  Thy  grace.  Pater,  Ave,  Gloria. 

^hursbag  before  Jfiret  .Suitbag  of  gCent 

St.  Matt.  viii.  5-13. 

Follow  in  spirit  our  blessed  Lord  in  His 
descent  from  the  Mount,  and  enter  among 
the  crowd  that  surrounds  Him.  Keep  in 
His  company  from  place  to  place.  Look  at 
Him  ; listen  to  Him  ; and  see  His  reception 
of  the  centurion  who  comes  to  beg  for  the 
restoration  of  his  servant  to  health. 

1. 

No  sooner  does  the  centurion  make  his 
petition  than  Jesus  answers,  ‘I  will  come  and 
heal  him/  How  sweet  is  this  readiness  of  our 
dear  Lord  ! And  to  show  the  greatness  of 
His  charity,  He  proposes  to  do  more  than 


8 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


is  required,  namely,  to  go  to  the  centurion’s 
house,  when  a word,  or  mere  act  of  His  will 
might  accomplish  the  cure.  In  fact,  He 
anticipates  the  petition,  for  the  centurion  had 
simply  stated  the  grievous  affliction  which  had 
fallen  upon  his  servant,  when  Jesus  says,  ‘ I 
will  go.’  Oh  ! dear  Jesus  ! how  kind,  how 
loving  Thou  art ! 

11. 

The  centurion  was  very  humble . ‘ Lord,’ 

he  said,  ‘I  am  not  worthy  that  Thou  shouldst 
enter  under  my  roof  ; but  only  say  the  word, 
and  my  servant  shall  be  healed.’  He  thought 
it  too  great  an  honour  for  a sinner  that  Jesus, 
so  good,  so  holy,  should  cross  his  threshold. 

hi. 

He  had  great  charity , as  we  see  by  his 
eagerness  to  secure  a great  benefit  for  his 
servant ; for  we  find  (St,  Luke  vii.)  that  he 
had  already  sent  two  messages  to  our  Lord, 
Who  was  approaching  his  house,  before  he 
himself  made  his  request.  And  he  had  great 
faith  in  the  power  and  goodness  of  Jesus,  Who 
said  to  him,  ‘ Go,  and  as  thou  hast  believed, 
so  be  it  done  to  thee’;  and  He  had  already 
said  that  He  had  ‘not  found  so  great  faith 
in  Israel.’ 

Faith  ; Charity  ; Humility.  Have  we  such 
faith  that  we  always  habitually  turn  to  God 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


9 


in  all  our  distresses  ? Do  we  not  rather,  as 
a custom,  turn  to  worldly  sources  of  consola- 
tion? Let  us  amend  this.  „ 

Have  we  great  eagerness  in  our  charity  to 
our  neighbour?  In  the  centurion  it  almost 
amounted  to  impatience.  When  are  we  im- 
patient? When  our  neighbour  requires  aid, 
does  every  lost  moment  appear  to  us  of 
immense  importance?  Are  we  not  rather  im- 
patient that  his  trials  should  trouble  us?  And 
how  impatient  we  are  under  our  own  trials  ! 

Do  we,  like  Jesus,  act  at  once,  when  charity 
calls  us?  Or  again,  are  we  inclined,  like  Him, 
to  do  more  than  is  absolutely  asked  of  us  ? 
Dear  Jesus,  increase  our  charity. 

Do  we  reflect  sufficiently  on  the  immeasur- 
able distance  in  worthiness  that  there  is  be- 
tween us  and  God  ? Or  do  we  not  rather 
accept  all  His  gifts  and  graces  as  if  they  were 
our  due?  We  have  enough  to  make  us  humble 
if  we  would  but  think  of  all  our  natural  and 
spiritual  defects.  Let  us  pray  for  an  increase 
of  Faith,  Charity,  and  Humility.  Jesus,  aid 
me  by  Thy  grace.  Pater,  Ave,  Gloria. 

Jfribat)  before  Jfir0t  <Sunbat)  of  gent* 

St.  Matt.  v.  43-48  ; vi.  1-4. 

Our  blessed  Lord  is  preaching  on  the 
Mount,  as  described  in  the  Gospel  of  this 


10 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


day ; represent  Him  then  to  yourself  as 
preaching  to  you,  and  think  that  you  are 
hearing  His  voice,  while  you  contemplate 
His  perfections  as  God  and  Man,  and  while 
He  tells  you  to  be  4 perfect  as  also  your 
heavenly  Father  is  perfect.’ 

i. 

We  have  been  chosen  by  Almighty  God  to 
be  members  of  His  Church,  and  therefore  to 
be  His  faithful  followers,  His  friends,  His 
children,  and  His  heirs.  It  is  His  great 
mercy  and  love  for  us  that  have  brought  us 
to  this  position,  the  most  noble  that  we  can 
conceive  on  earth.  We  therefore  ought  to 
endeavour  to  imitate  the  holiness  and  per- 
fection of  our  heavenly  Father.  Jesus  espe- 
cially draws  our  attention  to  one  way  in 
which  we  ought  to  strive  to  attain  perfection, 
namely,  by  loving  our  enemies,  and  in  this 
to  distinguish  ourselves  from  the  heathens. 
4 1 say  to  you,  love  your  enemies ; do  good 
to  them  that  hate  you  ; and  pray  for  them 
that  persecute  and  calumniate  you.’ 

ii. 

Although  He  alludes  particularly  to  one 
way  of  being  perfect,  nevertheless  His  words 
are  of  general  application,  and  we  must  seek 
after  perfection  in  all  virtues,  otherwise  we 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


i 


shall  not  be  perfect  as  our  heavenly  Father 
is  perfect.  Perfection  is  both  of  command 
and  of  counsel ; that  is,  there  is  a perfection 
which  we  are  obliged  to  seek  after,  and  a 
perfection  which  we  are  advised  to  endeavour 
to  attain.  We  are  all  obliged  to  seek  after 
perfection  in  Christianity,  and  in  the  state  in 
which  we  are  placed,  and  to  love  our  enemies, 
and  observe  perfectly  all  the  other  commands 
of  God.  We  are  advised  to  aim  at  perfection 
by  the  adoption  of  the  evangelical  counsels  of 
voluntary  poverty,  perpetual  chastity,  and  re- 
ligious obedience.  Happy  those  souls  who 
receive  a direct  call  from  God  to  the  religious 
state  ! 

iii. 

An  excellent  and  most  efficacious  means  of 
arriving  at  perfection  is  to  examine  carefully 
and  impartially  into  the  state  of  our  soul, 
and  to  discover  the  predominant  passion,  the 
principal  vice  from  which  our  other  vices  pro- 
ceed, and  to  endeavour,  with  all  our  power, 
to  root  it  out.  Think  what  is  your  chief  vice, 
what  is  the  one  that  leads  you  into  so  much 
mischief,  and  induces  you  to  commit  so 
many  sins.  Is  it  pride?  Vanity?  Laziness? 
Falsehood?  Disobedience?  Love  of  pleasure? 
Impurity?  Neglect  of  duty?  Neglect  of  the 
Sacraments?  Human  respect?  Or  is  it  any 


12 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


other  vice  ? Find  it  out,  and  resolve  to 
avoid  it. 

Do  I love  my  enemies  for  God’s  sake  as  I 
love  my  friends  ? Is  my  love  extended  to 
all  ? or  only  to  those  whom  my  natural  in- 
clinations lead  me  to  love,  or  perhaps  from 
whom  I expect  something  ? Do  I try  to  do 
all  my  actions,  to  speak  my  words,  and  enter- 
tain my  thoughts  with  a view  to  perfection  ? 

Let  me  remember  in  my  choice  of  a state 
of  life  that  it  is  my  dear  Divine  Saviour 
Who  advises  me  to  observe  the  evangelical 
counsels.  Can  I have  a better  adviser  ? 
Will  the  world  advise  me  so  well  ? Will  my 
own  bad  inclinations  advise  so  well  as  He 
does  ? 

Have  I ever  properly  set  to  work  in  real 
earnest  to  discover  the  source  of  my  evil 
actions  ; and  to  endeavour,  day  by  day,  to 
weaken  my  chief  vice  by  falling  into  the 
sins  to  which  it  leads  me,  less  and  less  often  ? 
I will  begin  now  from  this  moment.  Jesus, 
aid  me  by  Thy  grace.  Pater,  Ave,  Gloria. 


before  Jfivst  <Sunbag  oi  |Eent. 

Si.  Mark  vi.  47-56.  • 

Picture  to  yourself  the  Apostles  rowing  in 
their  boat  across  the  Lake  of  Gennesareth. 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS  13 

The  wind  is  against  them  ; the  boat  labours 
in  the  heavy  sea,  when  Jesus  walks  forth 
from  the  shore  upon  the  waters,  and  seems 
as  if  He  would  pass  them  by.  They  think  it 
is  a spectre,  and  cry  out  with  fear,  when  His 
voice  comes  to  them  over  the  raging  waves, 
bidding  them  have  courage,  for  it  is  He. 


1. 

The  space  of  our  life  is  like  a sea  which 
we  must  pass  over  in  order  to  reach  the 
happy  shores  of  heaven.  We  have  many 
obstacles  to  contend  against  in  our  voyage, 
which  may  be  summed  up  in  the  words, 
the  World,  the  Devil,  and  the  Flesh.  The 
opinions  and  prejudices  of  men ; their  ridi- 
cule, their  persecution,  their  unkindness,  their 
very  praises  oppose  us.  Human  respect  sin- 
gularly impedes  us,  we  care  so  much  about 
what  men  think  and  say.  The  devil  raises 
storms  against  our  salvation  by  his  evil  sug- 
gestions and  temptations,  and  the  flesh  by 
the  rebellion  of  our  corrupt  nature.  If  we 
truly  wish  and  try  to  serve  God  we  are  sure 
to  meet  with  these  storms,  we  must  expect 
them,  and  resolve  to  overcome  them  ; if  we 
do  not  care  about  His  service,  all  may  seem 
to  go  on  smoothly  for  a time,  but  in  a moment 
we  shall  be  lost  for  ever. 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


14 


II. 

In  the  storms  and  trials  of  life,  that  is  in 
our  afflictions,  in  our  temptations,  in  our 
sins  even,  Jesus  comes  towards  us  to  save  us, 
very  often  in  such  ways  that,  like  the  dis- 
ciples, we  do  not  recognise  Him.  Our  hearts 
are  blinded,  and  so  we  do  not  receive  into 
them  the  inspirations  of  His  grace.  We  do 
not  see  the  use  of  mortification,  of  patience 
under  trials,  of  bearing  injuries  and  insults 
calmly,  of  submitting  to  all  the  wise  and 
useful  discipline  provided  for  us  by  the 
Church.  This  is  our  own  fault,  and  we  must 
correct  it. 

hi. 

What  sweet  encouragement  is  in  those 
words,  ‘ It  is  I,  fear  ye  not.'  But  we  must 
deserve  that  they  should  be  addressed  to  us 
by  making  use  of  the  means  at  our  disposal 
for  drawing  Jesus  to  our  side.  Those  means 
are  prayer,  and  the  worthy  reception  of  the 
Sacraments,  combined  with  an  exact  obser- 
vance of  the  commandments,  and  of  the  laws 
of  the  Church. 

Do  I ever  neglect  a duty,  or  commit  a 
wrong  action  out  of  fear  of  the  blame,  or 
ridicule,  or  impertinent  conduct  of  my  fellow- 
creatures  ? Am  I ever  ashamed  of  my  re- 
ligion, or  of  any  religious  practices,  because 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


15 


they  are  contrary  to  the  notions  of  those  that 
I may  meet,  or  who  are  about  me  ? Do  I ever 
do  good  actions  in  order  to  acquire  praise  ? 
Do  I,  in  fact,  put  the  praise  or  blame  of  men 
above  the  praise  or  blame  of  God  ? 

Do  I ever  mortify  myself  voluntarily?  Do 
I receive  involuntary  mortifications  in  the 
spirit  of  penance  ? And  do  I comply  will- 
ingly with  all  that  the  Church  enjoins  for 
the  proper  discipline  of  my  soul?  Am  I 
fasting  and  abstaining  during  this  Lent  in  a 
true  Catholic  spirit  ? At  all  events,  I will  do 
so  now,  and  I will  correct  all  the  faults  that 
have  come  to  my  mind  during  this  medita- 
tion. Jesus,  aid  me  by  Thy  grace.  Pater, 
Ave,  Gloria. 


4fit0t  ot  gent 

Gospel. — St.  Matt . iv.  1-11. 

Our  dear  Lord  has  just  come  forth  from 
the  waters  of  Jordan,  where  He  had  been 
baptized  by  St.  John  the  Baptist ; the  heavens 
had  been  opened  to  Him  ; He  had  seen  the 
Spirit  of  God  descending  as  a dove,  and^ 
coming  upon  Him,  and  had  heard  a voice* 
from  heaven,  saying : ‘ This  is  My  Beloved 
Son,  in  Whom  I am  well  pleased  ’ (St.  Matt, 
iii.  16,  17).  And  at  once  He  is  led  by  the 


6 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


Spirit  into  the  desert  to  be  tempted  by  the 
devil.  See  Him  urged  by  the  Spirit,  and 
hastening  to  the  desert,  and  follow  Him  with 
your  heart  in  this  momentous  journey. 

i. 

It  was  not  the  evil  spirit,,  which  afterwards 
tempted  Him,  that  led  Jesus  into  the  desert, 
but  the  Spirit  of  God,  the  Spirit  of  holiness 
and  truth,  with  which  He  was  filled.  Not  a 
moment  was  lost  after  His  baptism,  but  He 
must  begin  at  once  His  career  as  an  example 
to  men.  He  is  driven  on  by  the  burning 
ardour  which  the  Holy  Ghost  enkindled  in 
His  heart,  and  hastens  to  the  awful  humilia- 
tion of  a personal  interview  with  the  devil. 
Consider  Him  alone  upon  the  side  of  that 
distant  and  barren  mountain  to  which  He 
fled,  and  in  His  deep  solitariness  fasting  for 
forty  days  and  forty  nights.  See  His  atti- 
tude expressive  of  sublime  resignation  to 
His  Father’s  will.  Hear  His  sighs  and 
prayers  for  the  men  whom  He  had  come  to 
save.  Try  to  enter  into  the  unspeakable 
beauty  of  the  thoughts  that  fill  His  Sacred 
Heart,  as  He  contemplates  the  infinite  glory 
of  His  Eternal  Father.  Praying,  watching, 
and  fasting,  for  forty  days  and  nights,  He  is 
alone  in  sublime  solitude. 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS  17 

% 


II. 

But,  suddenly,  He  is  no  more  alone.  There 
stands  another  in  visible  presence  before 
Him.  All  wickedness  is  confronted  with  all 
holiness,  all  hatred  with  the  ineffable  love  of 
God  made  man,  the  hideous  monstrosity  of 
sin  with  the  calm  beauty  of  the  embodiment 
of  heavenly  virtue.  Oh ! daring  crime  of 
Satan  ! Oh  ! wondrous  humiliation  of  Jesus  ! 
He  does  not  fly,  and  so  escape  the  torture  of 
that  odious  presence.  He  stays,  and  meets 
the  tempter  face  to  face.  Contemplate  the 
calm,  majestic  dignity  with  which  He  answers 
Satan,  striking  and  scathing  him  with  the 
simple  Word  of  God,  until  the  conquered 
tempter  leaves  Him. 


hi. 

But  He  is  not  now  alone.  See  how  from 
heaven  come  streaming  down  bright  lines  of 
Angels.  See  how  they  cluster  about  Him ; 
how  in  attitudes  of  adoration  they  minister 
to  Him  as  their  Creator  and  their  Lord. 
Join  with  those  angelic  bands  in  sentiments 
of  congratulation,  love,  and  adoration. 

Oh  ! how  I love  Thee,  my  Jesus,  for  the 
humiliation  of  this  temptation  undergone  for 
my  sake  ! How  I admire  Thee  ! Yet  how 
ofteri  do  I not  forget  the  example  Thou  hast 

2 


18  LENTEN  THOUGHTS 

shown  me  ! Do  I never  listen,  with  only  a 
half- will  of  resisting,  to  the  tempter  ? Let 
me  think  only  of  yesterday.  Had  I any 
temptations?  What  did  I do  when  they 
came  to  me  ? I am  ashamed  when  I think 
of  my  conduct,  and  contrast  it  with  Thine. 

Again,  so  far  from  imitating  my  Lord,  have 
I never  rather  followed  the  example  of  the 
devil,  and  dared  to  remain  in  the  presence  of 
God  when  my  soul  has  been  hideous  to  Him 
through  mortal  sin  ? 1 cannot  fly  from  His 

presence,  but  I can  cleanse  my  soul  if  I will, 
and  make  it  pleasing  in  His  sight  by  a good 
confession.  Jesus,  aid  me  by  Thy  grace. 
Pater,  Ave,  Gloria. 

Jftonimg  in  the  Jirst  ®eek  oi  gCent. 

Gospel. — St.  Matt.  xxv.  31-46. 

Let  us  represent  to  ourselves  the  Son  of 
Man,  as  our  dear  Lord  loves  to  call  Himself, 
coming  in  His  Majesty,  and  all  the  Angels 
with  Him,  and  seating  Himself  upon  His 
throne  of  judgment.  Then  let  us  see  all  the 
nations  of  the  earth — men  who  have  been 
dead  for  thousands  of  years,  and  those  who 
have  only  just  been  consigned  to  the  tomb — 
trooping  in  countless  multitudes  towards  the 
judgment-seat. 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


19 


I. 

We  must  look  upon  this  scene  as  if  we 
were  mere  spectators  at  a distance.  We 
shall  most  certainly  be  among  those  who 
shall  awaken  at  the  sound  of  the  trumpet  of 
the  Archangel.  Our  bodies  will  once  more 
be  united  to  our  souls — those  very  bodies 
and  souls  which  we  now  possess  ; and  we 
shall  arise  from  our  graves,  from  the  sea, 
from  places  where  our  bones  may  have  been 
scattered,  and  shall  be  urged  by  an  irresis- 
tible force  to  go  before  the  face  of  the  Judge. 
It  will  be  in  vain  to  try  to  hide  ourselves, 
and  so  escape  the  terrible  scrutiny  and  ex- 
posure of  that  day.  We  shall  be  no  longer 
our  own  masters.  The  exercise  of  free-will 
will  be  at  an  end  ; and  whether  we  will  or 
not,  we  must  be  judged. 


11. 

See  how  our  Lord  divides  the  good  from 
the  bad,  even  as  a shepherd  separates  the 
sheep  from  the  goats  on  the  hillside.  On 
which  side  am  I ? On  which  side  do  I 
now  deserve  to  be  ? On  the  right  with  the 
good,  or  on  the  left  with  those  who  are 
hurled  to  everlasting  torments,  and  the  loss 
of  God  and  all  good  ? Let  me  think  seriously 
on  the  state  of  my  soul  as  it  is  now,  and 

2 — 2 


20 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


consider  with  what  face  I could  appear 
before  the  all-seeing  scrutiny  of  the  eyes  of 
Jesus.  I may  die  in  a moment,  as  so  many 
thousands  have  done  who  thought  their 
chances  of  life  as  good  as  I now  think  mine. 
And  if  I die  in  mortal  sin,  I must  be.  judged 
in  mortal  sin. 

hi. 

Consider  the  law  of  love  as  the  foundation 
of  the  judgment.  How  wondrous  it  is  to  see 
God’s  judgment  and  His  love  brought  into 
such  close  contact,  and  seem  to  have  been 
made  one!  And  love  for  the  least  of  human 
kind ! ‘ Amen  I say  to  you,  as  long  as  you 

did  it  to  one  of  these  My  least  brethren,  you 
did  it  to  Me.’  How  sweetly  He  identifies 
Himself  with  His  creatures  ! And  in  what 
alluring  colours  is  not  the  judgment  depicted 
to  us,  when,  without  this,  its  terrors  would 
have  been  increased  in  an  almost  infinite 
degree.  It  is  Love  that  judges  upon  that 
throne  of  Majesty. 

I am  confounded  when  I look  into  the 
state  of  my  soul,  and  see  how  unfit  I am  to 
pass  this  great  judgment  of  love.  As  I am, 
I dare  not  brave  ‘ the  wrath  of  the  Lamb.’ 
O Jesus!  I will  ‘sweep  my  soul/  as  holy 
David  says;  I will  be  charitable;  I will  let 
Thy  love  be  supreme  in  my  heart : and,  for 
Thy  sake,  I will  love  my  neighbour  as  my- 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


21 


self.  In  all  my  transactions  with  men,  I 
will  consider  that  I am  dealing  with  Thee. 
Jesus,  aid  me  by  Thy  grace.  Pater,  Ave, 
Gloria. 


‘Uuesbag  in  the  Jirst  SIteek  of  gCent. 

Gospel. — St  Matt.  xxi.  10-17. 

See  our  dear  Lord  passing  through  the 
inquiring  crowds  who  hastened  about  Him 
in  the  streets  of  Jerusalem,  all  in  commo- 
tion, asking  one  another,  ‘Who  is  this?’ 
Regardless  of  their  clamour,  and  of  their 
questions  and  answers  concerning  Him,  He 
goes  straight  on  to  the  Temple,  and,  entering 
it,  finds  men  there  who  bought  and  sold,  and 
thus  desecrated  the  holy  precincts.  In  His 
zeal  for  His  Father’s  glory,  He  cast  them 
out,  overturning  their  tables  and  benches, 
and  bitterly  reproaching  them. 


1. 

The  zeal  which  Jesus  had  for  His  Father’s 
honour  and  glory  was  proportioned  to  the 
intimate  knowledge  which  He  had  of  what 
that  honour  demanded,  and  of  how  it  was 
assailed  by  the  unworthy  conduct  of  these 
men.  Since  that  knowledge  was  perfect 
and  most  exact,  we  can  form  some  distant 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


22 


idea  of  how  great  His  indignation  was,  and 
how  His  Sacred  Heart  was  pained  when  He 
saw  that  men  forgot  the  holiness  of  His 
Father’s  house,  and  turned  that  sacred 
Temple  into  a common  market-place.  His 
indignation  is  a holy  indignation,  without 
one  particle  of  fault  in  it.  Contemplate  it, 
and  consider  how  detestable  to  Him  is  any 
profanation  of  holy  things. 


ii. 

The  Temple  of  Jerusalem  was  the  type  of 
the  Christian  soul,  which  by  Baptism  is  made 
the  temple  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  by  the 
Holy  Communion  becomes  the  dwelling- 
place  of  Jesus  in  the  Blessed  Sacrament.  If 
the  anger  of  Jesus  was  so  great  when  He  saw 
the  material  Temple  profaned,  what  must  be 
the  pain  of  His  Sacred  Heart  when  He  be- 
holds an  immortal  soul  in  mortal  sin  ? — 
when  He  is  forced,  as  it  were,  to  enter  into 
such  a soul,  a defiled  temple,  when  He  is 
unworthily  received  in  the  Communion  ? 
Such  a soul  is  to  Him  a den  of  thieves ; nay, 
worse,  a den  of  devils.  Into  what  fearful 
company  the  unworthy  receiver  forces  the 
pure  Lamb  of  God  ! How  terrible  is  the 
wrath  of  that  Lamb,  and  the  punishment 
which  awaits  such  a soul ! 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


23 


III. 

The  anger  of  Jesus  did  not  take  posses- 
sion of  Him  so  far  as  to  make  Him  forget 
His  mission  of  love  and  mercy,  for  we  find 
that,  while  still  in  the  Temple,  the  blind  and 
the  lame  came  clustering  about  Him,  and  He 
cured  them.  Contemplate  our  Lord  in  these 
acts  of  goodness,  and  imagine  you  hear  Him 
speaking  kind  and  encouraging  words  to 
these  poor  people,  and  see  Him  restoring  to 
them  their  lost  faculties.  The  hard-hearted 
and  profane  He  casts  away  ; but  the  poor, 
the  helpless,  and  afflicted,  He  gathers  to  His 
Sacred  Heart. 

Am  I ever  indignant  ? Yes,  truly,  very 
frequently.  Is  it  because  God  is  offended, 
and  out  of  pure  zeal  for  His  honour?  No; 
it  is  because  / am  offended.  It  is  when  I 
am  insulted ; when  men  undervalue  me ; 
when  they  prefer  others  to  me ; when  they 
question  or  deny  my  claims  to  their  con- 
sideration. Let  me  amend  this. 

Have  I such  great  claims  to  the  esteem 
of  men  when  I have  so  often  forfeited  that 
of  God  by  my  sins  ? Perhaps  even  I have 
gone  the  length  of  profaning  the  Sacraments, 
of  making  a bad  confession  and  Communion. 
I will  examine  my  conscience  upon  these 
points,  and  I will  apply  a remedy  if  I find 
anything  wrong. 


24 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


Again  : I know  that,  as  a Catholic,  I have 
sometimes  been  indignant  at  words  and  acts 
which  insulted  the  religion  I profess.  Has 
it  been  simply  an  indignation  on  account  of 
God  ? And  has  it  ever  made  me  forget  the 
duty  of  charity?  Has  it  ever  so  far  upset 
my  mind  that  I have  been  distracted  through 
it,  and  allowed  myself  to  be  led  by  it  into 
any  fault  ? I will  search  into  this,  and 
correct  myself.  Jesus,  aid  me  by  Thy  grace. 
Pater,  Ave,  Gloria. 

(Smber  SEUimeebaj). 

Gospel. — St.  Matt.  xii.  38- 50. 

Imagine  our  blessed  Lord  surrounded  by 
Scribes  and  Pharisees  who  try  to  tease  and 
annoy  Him  by  asking  Him  to  perform  a 
miracle  for  them.  Admire  His  patience,  and 
at  the  same  time  the  outspoken  and  unflinch- 
ing way  in  which  He  tells  them  that  their 
generation  is  an  evil  one,  and  in  which  He 
proclaims  His  superiority  to  Jonas  and  to 
Solomon. 

1. 

Patience  and  truth  were  most  conspicuous 
in  the  conduct  of  Jesus.  And,  after  His 
example,  they  have  been  very  observable  in 
the  lives  of  all  His  Saints. 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


25 


Patience  means  suffering,  or  waiting  with 
calmness  and  resignation;  and  what  Jesus 
had  to  suffer  in  the  scene  here  recorded,  was 
the  importunate  impertinence  of  malicious 
and  hypocritical  men.  How  trying  this 
must  have  been  to  one  Who  saw  into  the 
depths  of  their  hearts,  and  Who  knew  the 
motives  which  urged  them  to  make  their 
request ! 

11. 

Notwithstanding  that  He  knew  and 
measured  their  malice  and  hypocrisy,  He 
does  not  disdain  to  give  them  instruction, 
but  speaks  out  the  truth  plainly  to  them, 
telling  them  that  the  men  of  Ninive  and  the 
Queen  of  the  South  should  rise  up  in  judg- 
ment against  them. 


hi. 

The  men  of  Ninive  did  penance  on  the 
preaching  of  Jonas,  and  the  Queen  of  the 
South  came  from  very  distant  lands  to  hear 
the  wisdom  of  Solomon  ; and,  although  they 
were  Pagans,  our  dear  Lord  speaks  in  praise 
of  them  for  what  they  had  done  well.  It  was 
their  correspondence  with  a supernatural 
inspiration  that  called  forth  His  praises.  He 
is  continually  calling  us  to  penance  by  the 
voice  of  His  Church,  and  especially  at  this 
time  of  Lent ; and  He  would  ever  have  us 


26 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


seek  after  the  wisdom  of  Himself,  Who  is 
greater  than  Solomon,  the  wisdom  of  seeking 
after  His  love  and  His  law  before  all  things 
on  earth,  and  our  eternal  salvation  in  the 
next  life.  What  is  all  worldly  wisdom  when 
compared  with  that  which  the  Saints  sought 
and  found  in  the  study  of  His  Sacred  Heart  ? 

Am  I patient  habitually  in  all  my  dealings 
with  God,  and  with  my  fellow-men  ? If  I 
desire  to  love  God  above  all  things,  am  I not 
impatient  when  1 find  that  I do  not  succeed 
at  once  ? And  does  not  this  impatience 
show  itself  by  a sort  of  petulant  despair,  so 
that  I am  tempted  to  give  up  trying  to  be 
virtuous  or  perfect  ? Have  I ever  yielded  to 
this  ? 

But  if  I am  so  imperfect  as  not  even  to 
have  arrived  at  the  sincere  wish  to  serve 
God  perfectly,  how  many  things  excite  my 
impatience  ! I cannot  stand  the  slightest 
impertinence.  I cannot  bear  that  men  should 
expect  me  to  give  any  proofs  of  my  truth,  etc. 
And  the  insolence  of  men  very  often,  per- 
haps, even  deters  me  from  announcing  to 
them  the  truth,  and  makes  me  silent  when  in 
duty  I ought  to  speak. 

Let  me  take  heed  lest  the  very  Pagans,  and 
those  who  are  not  Catholics,  who  have  done 
their  duty  as  far  as  they  know  how,  rise  up 
in  judgment  against  me,  who  have  had  so 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


27 


many  graces,  so  many  opportunities  and 
chances  of  doing  good.  O Jesus  ! I will  do 
prance  in  time,  and  I will  accept  this  Lent 
as  coming  from  Thee,  through  Thy  Church, 
for  the  due  correction  of  my  soul.  Jesus,  aid 
me  by  Thy  grace.  Pater,  Ave,  Gloria. 

^hurshai)  in  the  Jjirst  Wink  of  gCent 
Gospel. — St.  Matt . xv.  21-28. 

Imagine  in  your  mind  Jesus  walking  with 
His  disciples  along  the  sea-coast  of  Phoenicia, 
near  those  ancient  towns  of  Tyre  and  Sidon, 
and  see  the  Canaanean  woman,  who  comes, 
full  of  faith  in  His  miraculous  powers,  to  in- 
voke His  aid  for  the  cure  of  her  daughter. 


1. 

Jesus  did  not  answer  a word  to  her  first 
supplication  ; He  seemed  to  turn  a deaf  ear 
to  her  entreaty.  In  my  case,  would  not  this 
be  enough  to  repel  me  altogether  ? Should 
I not  feel  that  my  pride  was  wounded,  and 
that  I was  made  of  no  consideration  ? How 
often  has  it  not  happened  to  me  that  I have 
prayed  for  favours,  and  have  been  discouraged, 
or  even  disgusted  at  their  not  being  granted 
at  once  ? I will  look  upon  the  dear  face  of 
Jesus,  and  study  His  Sacred  Heart,  and  I 


28 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


shall  find  that,  all  the  while,  He  is  full  ot 
sweetness  and  mercy,  that  His  Heart  is  yearn- 
ing for  me,  that  if  there  be  any  fault,  it  is  all 
my  own,  and  that  the  only  thing  to  disgust 
me  should  be  my  own  pride  and  impatience. 


ii. 

When  the  disciples  asked  Jesus  to  send  her 
away  because  she  was  crying  after  them,  His 
reply  was  that  He  was  only  sent  to  the  lost 
sheep  of  the  house  of  Israel.  This  answer,  as 
excluding  the  Canaanean  from  His  mission, 
would  seem  to  be  a terrible  rebuff ; but  it 
appears  only  to  have  induced  her  to  approach 
nearer,  to  adore  Him,  and  to  beseech  Him 
piteously,  1 0 Lord,  help  me/  Admire  the 
strength  of  her  desire  that  her  petition  should 
be  complied  with;  and  also  the  hidden  motive 
of  our  dear  Lord,  Who  wished  to  make  a trial 
of,  and  to  manifest  publicly,  her  perseverance 
and  her  faith. 

hi. 

The  second  answer  of  Jesus  would  be  still 
more  repelling  to  a soul  of  less  humility,  for 
He  said  to  her  : ‘ It  is  not  good  to  take  the 
bread  of  the  children  and  cast  it  to  dogs/ 
How  would  it  be  with  me  in  such  a case  ? 
But  with  her,  humility  and  earnestness  gained 
the  day.  She  said,  ‘Yea,  Lord  ; for  even  the 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


29 


whelps  eat  of  the  crumbs  that  fall  from  the 
table  of  their  masters.’  And  she  deserved  to 
hear  that  other  answer,  which  crowned  her 
happiness,  and  sent  her  away  rejoicing  : ‘O 
woman,  great  is  thy  faith ; be  it  done  unto 
thee  as  thou  wishest.’ 

The  petition  of  this  woman  had  all  the  con- 
ditions of  supplicatory  prayer.  It  was  earnest ; 
for  her  whole  conduct  shows  how  her  heart 
was  absorbed  in  the  wish  for  its  accomplish- 
ment. It  was  devout ; for  she  adored  Jesus. 
It  was  humble ; for  she  did  not  hesitate 
under  what  we  might  consider  to  be  rude 
repulses  ; nor  did  she  shrink  from  likening 
herself  to  the  dumb  creatures  which  are  con- 
tent to  pick  up  the  crumbs  beneath  the  table. 
It  was  persevering ; for  she  would  not  desist 
in  spite  of  all.  It  was  full  of  faith  ; for  she 
must  have  firmly  believed  in  His  power,  not 
only  to  have  persevered,  but  to  deserve  from 
Him  those  words,  ‘great  is  thy  faith.’ 

I will  imitate  this  woman  in  my  prayer. 
I will  endeavour  to  give  my  prayers  all  the 
conditions  which  can  make  them  good.  Many 
times  I have  been  tempted  to  think  that  God 
forgot  me,  that  He  would  take  no  heed  of 
me,  because  all  did  not  turn  out  at  once  as  I 
wished  and  prayed.  But  now  I know  that 
all  His  conduct  to  me  has  been  for  my  greater 
and  more  lasting  good.  I will  never  doubt 


30 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


Thee,  0 my  Jesus  ! My  heart  shall  rest  in 
Thee ; and  I will  always  be  sure  that  what- 
ever Thou  dost  to  me,  or  for  me,  is  the  best 
that  could  befall  me.  Jesus,  aid  me  by  Thy 
grace.  Pater,  Ave,  Gloria. 


(Ember  Jfribztj). 

Gospel. — St.  John  v.  1-15. 

Picture  to  your  mind  the  pool  of  Bethsaida, 
a small  pond  just  within  one  of  the  gates  of 
Jerusalem,  and  see  the  multitude  of  sick  per- 
sons lying  in  the  porches  which  gave  entrance 
to  it.  See  our  Blessed  Lord  passing  by,  and 
attracted  by  the  sight  of  one  severely  afflicted, 
and  make  vivid  to  yourself  the  whole  scene 
related  in  the  Gospel. 


1. 

The  Venerable  Bede  says  that  the  blind 
represent  those  who  have  not  the  light  of 
sacred  knowledge  ; the  lame,  those  who  have 
not  moral  strength  to  carry  out  what  they  see 
and  know  to  be  right ; the  withered,  those 
who  have  not  the  unction  of  Divine  love. 

Now  let  me  consider  if  I have  taken  pains 
to  acquire  the  knowledge  of  sacred  things,  of 
my  religion,  of  its  doctrines  and  practices. 
I certainly  have  had  opportunities  enough  ; 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


3i 


have  I taken  advantage  of  those  opportunities? 
Or  have  I not  rather  felt  weariness  and  dis- 
gust when  I have  heard  the  Word  of  God 
preached  : and  have  I not  preferred  any  light 
and  amusing  reading  to  giving  up  even  a small 
portion  of  my  time  each  day  to  studying  the 
science  of  the  Saints,  and  how  to  be  perfect  ? 


11. 

Supposing  that  I have  tried  to  illuminate 
my  mind  with  sacred  knowledge,  and  par- 
ticularly with  the  knowledge  of  what  God 
requires  of  me  especially  and  individually, 
what  use  have  I made  of  that  knowledge  when 
it  has  been  made  manifest  to  me,  either  by 
the  inspirations  of  Divine  grace,  or  by  the 
ordinary,  practical  way  of  gaining  it,  namely, 
by  the  advice  and  direction  of  my  confessor? 
Have  I consulted  my  director  when  I have 
been  in  uncertainty  about  God’s  will  in  my 
regard  ? And  if  he  has  told  me  what  I 
ought  to  do,  and  so  given  me  knowledge  on 
the  point,  have  I complied  with  his  direc- 
tions ? This  consideration  is  of  the  highest 
importance  in  the  choice  of  a state  of  life, 
which  does  not  mean  what  profession  or 
mode  of  living  in  the  world  we  shall  pursue, 
but  what  is  our  vocation.  Does  God  call  us 
to  serve  Him  in  the  priesthood,  or  in  religion  ; 
or  does  He  will  that  we  should  save  our  souls 


32 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


by  marrying  and  settling  in  the  world  ? Have 
I ever  allowed  any  earthly  consideration  to 
interfere  with  what  I have  learnt  to  be,  or 
what  I have  solid  grounds  to  believe  to  be 
my  vocation  ? If  I have,  I have  taken  an 
awful  responsibility  on  myself — namely,  that 
of  choosing  for  myself  in  opposition  to  God’s 
will. 

hi. 

My  whole  soul,  and  all  that  I do,  will  be 
withered  and  dry  if  I have  not  the  unction 
of  Divine  love.  I must  endeavour  to  obtain 
it,  then,  by  observing  the  commandments  in 
every  particular ; by  prayer,  and  a frequent 
approach  to  the  Sacraments  of  penance  and 
the  Holy  Eucharist.  Particular  devotions 
also  will  help  me  to  progress  in  Divine  love ; 
not  only  such  as  are  expressive  of  love  to 
God  and  His  Saints,  and  which  give  us  a 
sensible  satisfaction,  but  also  those  which 
cost  us  a greater  exercise  of  charity,  such  as 
praying  for  the  dead,  and  devoutly  perform- 
ing spiritual  and  corporal  works  of  mercy. 
Let  me  examine  myself  on  these  points,  and 
see  if  I have  made  the  acquisition  of  Divine 
love  the  great  object  of  my  life. 

O my  dear  Lord  Jesus,  how  often  hast 
Thou  said  to  me  interiorly,  ‘ Wilt  thou  be 
made  whole?’  And  have  I not  neglected 
Thy  most  gracious  mercy  ? Have  I not  pre- 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


33 


ferred  to  remain  spiritually  blind,  and  lame, 
and  withered  ? I see  my  misery,  and  I will 
no  longer  refuse  Thy  aid.  Help  me,  dear 
Jesus;  help  me,  that  I may  know  Thy  will  in 
my  regard,  that  I may  accomplish  it  perfectly, 
and  that  I may  acquire  the  perfection  of 
Divine  love.  Pater,  Ave,  Gloria. 

(Ember  <Saturimm 
Gospel. — St . Matt.  xvii.  1-9. 

Imagine,  as  far  as  you  are  able,  the  glorious 
vision  which  was  shown  to  the  eyes  of  the 
disciples,  Peter,  James,  and  John.  See  our 
dear  Lord  on  the  summit  of  Mount  Thabor 
suddenly  transfigured,  His  face  shining  as 
the  sun,  and  His  garments  becoming  white 
as  snow.  Look  upon  the  beautiful  face  of 
Jesus  all  lighted  up  by  the  brightness  of  His 
Divinity,  which  glowed  through  the  veil  of 
His  Humanity,  and  be  content,  with  Peter, 
to  remain  there  gazing  upon  His  beauty. 


1. 

‘ It  is  good  for  us  to  be  here/  These  are 
the  words  of  St.  Peter,  who  would  have 
remained  for  ever  in  the  presence  of  Jesus, 
contemplating  His  beauty  in  silent  adoration. 
It  is  always  good  to  be  with  Jesus.  Others 
talk  of  being  with  Him,  and  of  going  to  Him, 
♦ 3 


34 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


but  none  can  point  out  the  way  to  Him,  nor 
tell  us  how  to  remain  with  Him,  but  the 
Catholic  Church.  How  can  I ever  love  my 
Church  too  much  which  teaches  me  so  much  ? 
I know  what  she  teaches  me  in  order  that  I 
may  be  with  Him.  Do  I always  make  use 
of  the  means  which  she  places  within  my 
reach  ? Am  I as  fond  as  I ought  to  be  of 
being  with  Him  in  the  most  Blessed  Sacra- 
ment, by  receiving  Him  into  my  heart,  or  by 
visiting  Him  in  the  tabernacle  ? 

ii. 

In  the  Blessed  Sacrament,  when  I visit  it, 
I can  contemplate  Jesus  in  whatever  aspect 
I may  choose.  I can  look  upon  Him  as  the 
little  Child  of  Bethlehem,  weeping  and  wail- 
ing, and  speaking  to  His  Blessed  and  Im- 
maculate Mother,  that  language  of  babes 
which  has  no  words,  but  which  mothers  can 
so  well  understand.  I can  look  upon  Him 
as  transfigured  with  all  the  wondrous  beauty 
of  Thabor ; or  as  the  outcast  in  the  Garden  of 
Gethsemane,  and  in  all  the  unspeakable  woe 
of  His  most  bitter  dying.  It  is  good  for  me 
thus  to  visit  and  contemplate  Him,  for  I 
cannot  do  so  without  feeling  my  heart  warm 
to  Him  more  and  more,  and  without  increas- 
ing my  love  for  Him.  And  this,  after  all,  is 
what  I most  wish  for  on  earth.  Why  am  I, 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


35 


then,  so  cold  and  so  negligent  with  respect  to 
the  Blessed  Sacrament  ? 

hi. 

St.  Peter  was  content  to  remain  there,  and 
was  perfectly  unselfish  in  his  satisfaction. 
He  said  : ‘ Let  us  make  here  three  taber- 
nacles : one  for  Thee,  and  one  for  Moses,  and 
one  for  Elias.’  He  did  not  think  of  himself 
further  than  that  he  wished  for  the  con- 
tinuous sight  of  the  bright  vision  then  before 
him.  He  would  have  remained  there,  far 
from  his  home  and  his  friends,  without  care 
for  his  food  or  his  raiment ; without  shelter 
from  the  cold  dews  of  that  mountain-top  by 
night,  and  the  terrible  heat  of  the  Syrian  sun 
by  day.  He  only  thought  of  his  Lord,  and 
after  Him,  of  those  friends  of  His  who  ac- 
companied Him  during  the  Transfiguration. 
What  a contrast  my  conduct  presents  to 
that  of  St.  Peter  ! How  many  trifling  causes 
prevent  me  from  going  to  Jesus,  and  being 
with  Him  in  the  Blessed  Sacrament ! How 
many  distractions  I have  when  there ! 
Worldly  cares,  and  all  sorts  of  little  incon- 
veniences, come  to  disturb  my  thoughts,  and 
to  take  them  away  from  the  contemplation 
of  my  Lord. 

My  Jesus,  it  shall  no  longer  be  so.  I will 
look  upon  the  possession  of  Thee  and  Thy 

3—2 


36 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


grace  as  my  greatest  treasure,  to  which  no 
earthly  treasure  can  be  for  one  moment  com- 
pared. I will  seek  Thee  in  all  things ; and 
especially  will  I seek  Thee  by  a worthy  and 
devout  reception  of  Thee  in  the  Blessed 
Eucharist,  and  by  cultivating  in  my  soul  a 
more  intense  love  of  Thee  in  that  Holy 
Sacrament.  Jesus,  aid  me  by  Thy  grace. 
Pater,  Ave,  Gloria. 


§>tcoxtb  cSunhaj)  of  gCent 

Gospel. — Same  as  Yesterday. 

Imagine  yourself  on  Thabor,  and  gazing 
with  the  Apostles  on  the  glorious  vision  of 
Christ  transfigured.  What  thoughts  would 
fill  your  mind  if  you  were  there,  and  beheld 
Jesus  in  His  Sacred  Humanity  before  you? 

i. 

The  sight  of  Jesus  in  such  glory  would 
raise  in  your  soul  thoughts  of  profound 
adoration.  You  would  fall  down  before 
Him,  overcome  with  the  splendour  of  eternal 
light  which  shone  around  Him  for  the  time. 
He  is  still,  and  for  ever,  the  same  Jesus ; 
and  He  beholds  you,  although  you  do  not 
see  Him.  His  Sacred  Humanity  in  heaven 
is  resplendent  with  an  infinitely  more  glorious 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


37 


light  than  that  which  shone  on  Thabor.  You 
know  this  by  faith.  Behold  Him,  then,  with 
the  eyes  of  faith,  and  let  all  the  powers  of 
your  soul  bow  before  Him  in  supreme  adora- 
tion. Offer  to  Him  the  homage  of  your  whole 
being,  and  promise  Him  that  you  will  never, 
with  the  help  of  His  grace,  do  anything  un- 
worthy of  His  Divine  presence. 


ii. 

During  the  Transfiguration  a bright  cloud 
overshadowed  Him  and  the  Apostles,  and 
a voice  was  heard  from  the  cloud,  saying, 
4 This  is  My  beloved  Son,  in  Whom  I am 
well  pleased ; hear  ye  Him.’  And  the 
Apostles  were  afraid.  You  would  have  been 
afraid  also  at  this  manifestation  of  God. 
And  now  that  your  mind  is  absorbed  in  the 
contemplation  of  Him,  are  you  not  afraid 
when  you  think  of  your  unworthiness  ? When 
you  reflect  that  if  it  were  not  for  His  mercy, 
you  would  have  died  when  you  were  in  your 
first  mortal  sin  ; in  your  second  ; your  third ; 
your  hundredth  ? Are  you  in  mortal  sin  at 
this  moment  ? Promise  Him  that  you  will 
make  yourself  fit  for  His  presence  by  a good 
confession,  and  that  you  will  do  so  at  the 
first  opportunity,  without  any  putting  off. 
Make  an  act  of  contrition  now.  You  would 
do  so  if  suddenly  you  were  to  see  Him  before 


38 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


you,  or  if  you  were  to  hear,  with  your  mortal 
ears,  the  awful  voice  of  God.  You  know 
that  God  is  present  here  and  now  as  much 
as  if  you  saw  Him. 

in. 

Again,  were  you  on  Thabor  and  beheld 
the  face  of  Jesus,  how  your  heart  would  be 
inflamed  with  love  of  Him  ! with  the  desire 
of  being  with  Him,  and  never  being  sepa- 
rated from  Him  for  all  eternity  ! You  would 
tell  Him  how  much  you  loved  Him,  or  at 
least  how  truly  you  desired  and  longed  to 
love  Him,  that  you  might  gain  His  love. 
Do  so  now;  and  excite  your  heart  to  a great, 
burning  desire  of  the  love  of  God.  Think 
how  little  anything  but  what  is  God,  or  in 
God,  and  for  God,  is  worthy  of  the  love  of 
an  immortal  soul. 

Do  I give  Thee,  O Jesus  ! all  the  adora- 
tion and  love  of  which  I am  capable  ? I 
know  the  answer  which  Thou  must  give  me. 
I can  adore  Thee  and  love  Thee  more  than 
I do  now.  I can  reflect  more  upon  Thy 
Divinity  and  Thy  Humanity  than  I do.  Oh  ! 
help  me  with  Thy  grace.  Increase  my  faith 
in  Thy  adorable  presence,  and  let  me  never 
forget  it.  Prostrate  in  adoration  and  love  at 
Thy  dear  feet,  I hide  my  face  and  grieve 
from  my  heart  that  I have  ever  offended 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


39 


Thy  awful  but  loving  Majesty.  Jesus,  aid 
me  by  Thy  grace.  Pater,  Ave,  Gloria. 

Jttonhaj)  in  the  §tco\xb  Week  erf  |Cent. 

Gospel. — St.  John  viii.  21-29. 

Jesus  was  probably  in  the  Temple  when 
He  delivered  the  sermon  contained  in  the 
words  of  this  day’s  Gospel ; imagine  Him, 
then,  there,  surrounded  by  Scribes,  Pharisees, 
and  a number  of  other  Jews.  See  with  what 
calm  dignity  Jesus  bears  Himself  in  the 
midst  of  His  captious  and  cunning  enemies, 
and  how,  in  spite  of  their  hostility,  He  pro- 
claims the  Truth. 

1. 

Jesus  does  not  fear  opposition,  nor  even 
malice.  He  knows  that  what  He  has  to  say 
is  true,  and  though  the  whole  world  were 
ranged  against  Him  in  enmity  or  ridicule, 
He  would  still  proclaim  the  Truth.  Has  a 
false  fear  of  the  world  any  influence  over 
me  ? Do  I fear,  or  care  for  what  men  may 
say  of  me  on  account  of  my  maintaining 
Catholic  truth  ? Have  I ever  shrunk  from 
an  open  profession  of  my  faith,  when  God’s 
honour  and  my  neighbour’s  good  may  have 
required  it,  on  account  of  any  fear  of  the 
world  ? Have  I ever  felt  ashamed  of  any 


40 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


Catholic  doctrine  or  practice  ; or  of  taking 
decidedly  the  side  of  truth  and  of  virtue  in 
the  face  of  the  injuries  or  sneers  of  others  ? 
What  a noble  figure  Jesus  makes  when  He, 
encounters  hostility,  compromising  nothing, 
yielding  in  nothing,  but  keeping  the  straight- 
forward line  of  duty  in  spite  of  all. 

ii. 

Jesus  not  merely  announced  to  the  Jews 
the  eternal  truths,  but  He  said  many  hard 
things  of  them  when  occasion  required.  He 
did  not  conceal,  nor  attempt  to  conceal,  their 
faults  from  them,  but  told  them  of  their 
obstinate  resistance  to  God’s  grace,  and  to 
what  this  world  would  lead  them — viz.,  that 
they  should  die  in  their  sins.  It  is  the  part 
of  a true  friend  to  tell  another,  in  all  charity, 
of  his  faults  and  errors,  and  to  what  they  will 
lead  if  they  are  not  corrected.  Jesus  is  our 
true  friend,  and  by  His  Word,  by  His  Church, 
and  by  the  voice  of  our  own  consciences, 
He  is  always  telling  us  of  our  transgressions. 
And  if  the  Church  sometimes  tells  us  hard 
truths  about  ourselves,  or  demands  from  us 
some  slight  denial  to  our  natural  inclinations, 
shall  we  refuse  to  acknowledge  the  friendly 
character  of  all  this  ? When  the  Church 
speaks,  let  us  hear  Jesus  speaking  by  her 
mouth,  and  let  us  listen  to  Him  with  all 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


4i 


meekness  and  docility,  so  that  we  may  not 
incur  the  punishment  of  the  Jews. 

hi. 

Let  us  reflect  that  Jesus  knew,  all  the 
while,  that  the  men  to  whom  He  was  speak- 
ing would  seek  His  life  for  His  plain,  out- 
spoken condemnation  of  their  conduct.  By 
His  Divine  knowledge,  He  knew  not  only 
every  thought  that  was  there  and  then  pass- 
ing through  their  minds,  but  he  also  foresaw 
all  that  would  come  of  it  : how  they  would 
hate  Him,  thirst  for  His  blood,  and  hunt 
Him  to  death.  Let  us  adore  the  patience 
and  the  inflexible  holiness  of  our  Lord,  and 
let  us  try  to  warm  up  our  hearts  to  a true 
and  most  sincere  sympathy  with  Him. 

When  I examine  myself,  have  I not  reason 
to  be  ashamed  that  my  conduct  so  little 
resembles  that  of  Jesus  ? If  there  are  any 
whom  I love  with  a worldly  love,  am  I not 
too  ready  to  cover  up  their  faults  even  from 
their  own  eyes  ? And  if,  on  the  other  hand, 
I have  an  ill-feeling  towards  anyone,  I am 
too  apt  to  exaggerate  their  failings.  Truth, 
without  diminution  or  exaggeration,  is  what 
I ought  to  learn  from  Jesus.  O my  dear 
J.ord,  let  me  never  shrink  from  the  truth, 
however  disagreeable  it  may  be  to  me,  or  to 
those  to  whom  I speak.  With  Thy  grace,  I 


42 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


resolve  that  I never  will.  Hear  my  resolu- 
tion, and  bless  it.  Pater,  Ave,  Gloria. 


^tte0hag  in  the  <Se<;onb  Wittk  of  |Cent. 

Gospel. — St.  Matt . xxiii.  1-12. 

See  our  dear  Lord  still  surrounded  by 
Scribes,  Pharisees,  and  multitudes  of  persons 
besides  His  disciples ; look  upon  His  face ; 
and  hear  His  words  as  if  they  were  addressed 
to  you. 

1. 

How  wonderfully  painful  and  repulsive  it 
must  have  been  to  Jesus  to  see  the  malice 
and  hypocrisy  of  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees, 
to  know  it  all  most  perfectly,  and  to  appre- 
ciate with  a most  full  understanding  all  the 
wickedness  which  reigned  in  their  hearts.  He 
could  not  bear  the  presence  of  sin  in  any  way, 
or  in  any  shape,  and  yet  out  of  His  love  for 
man,  and  a desire  to  spread  His  Father’s 
truth,  He  submitted  to  be  constantly  in  the 
midst  of  sin  and  of  sinners.  Learn  to  love 
Jesus  for  this  sign  of  His  love  for  you  indi- 
vidually, and  consider  your  own  conduct  with 
regard  to  Him.  Have  you,  like  Him,  an  in- 
tense hatred  of  sin,  and  yet  a great  patience 
with  sinners  ? Do  you  willingly  submit  to  be 
placed  in  awkward  or  unpleasant  situations 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


43 


for  His  sake  ? Nothing  can,  by  any  possi- 
bility, be  so  repulsive  to  us  as  sin  was  to 
Him,  Who  was  all  purity  and  holiness,  and 
yet  we  are  very  fastidious  about  any  circum- 
stances that  are  not  quite  agreeable  to  us, 
particularly  when  the  performance  of  our 
duty  brings  us  into  contact  with  them.  Is 
it  generally  sin  that  excites  our  disgust  ? Let 
us  amend  our  conduct. 


ii. 

The  disgust  which  filled  the  Sacred  Heart 
of  Jesus  at  the  sight  of  the  wickedness  of  the 
Pharisees  was  very  much  heightened  by  their 
hypocrisy.  He  knew  the  utter  hollowness 
of  their  pretensions  to  virtue,  while  He,  in 
common  with  others,  saw  their  sanctimonious 
ostentation  of  good  works,  and  the  arrogance 
with  which  they  asserted  their  spiritual  supe- 
riority. How  infinitely  repulsive  this  must 
have  been  to  Him  Whose  whole  conduct  was 
so  noble  and  upright,  and  in  Whom  there 
could  be  nothing  mean  or  pretentious  ! What 
dost  Thou  see  in  me,  my  Jesus?  Are  my 
outward  acts  always  indications  of  what 
really  exists  in  my  heart?  Do  I always  speak 
simply  that  which  I feel  ? Art  Thou  never 
shocked  by  observing  in  me  talk  and  show 
of  great,  noble,  and  virtuous  feelings  which 
really  have  no  root  in  my  soul  ? Do  I never 


44 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


try  to  appear  to  men  to  be  better  than  what 
I know  I must  be  to  Thy  all-seeing  eye  ? 

hi. 

The  horror  of  Jesus  was  heightened  not 
alone  by  the  hypocrisy  of  the  Pharisees,  but 
also  by  their  want  of  charity  and  considera- 
tion for  others.  They  bound,  as  He  said, 
‘heavy  and  insupportable  burdens,  and  lay 
them  on  men’s  shoulders ; but  with  a finger 
of  their  own  they  will  not  move  them.’  Pre- 
tension with  regard  to  virtue  is  sure  to  be 
accompanied  by  uncharitableness.  If  we 
make  great  outward  professions  of  virtue,  we 
are  certain  to  look  down  upon  our  neighbours, 
and  to  demand  more  from  them  than  we  are 
willing  to  do  ourselves.  Let  us  examine  our- 
selves upon  this  head,  and  see  if  we  are  not 
often  censorious  about  our  neighbour’s  con- 
duct with  regard  to  the  very  things  in  which 
we  are  signally  deficient.  We  think  our 
neighbour  vain,  conceited,  haughty,  negli- 
gent, given  to  unkind  conversation,  or  what 
not ; or  perhaps  accuse  him  in  our  own  minds 
of  greater  crimes,  while,  if  we  looked  at  our- 
selves, what  should  we  find  ? Is  there  any- 
thing in  us  to  warrant  our  being  so  exacting 
with  respect  to  our  neighbour  ? 

Dear  Lord  Jesus,  I will,  with  Thy  grace,  be 
patient  with  others ; I will  try  to  know  my- 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


45 


self  thoroughly.  How  many  graces  Thou 
hast  given  me  ! How  long  Thou  hast  borne 
with  me  ! And  shall  I,  sinner  as  I am,  be 
supercilious  to  my  neighbour,  or  think  myself 
in  any  way  better  than  he  is  ? I will  hate 
hypocrisy  in  my  own  conduct,  because  it  is 
most  detestable  in  itself,  and  most  offensive 
to  Thee.  I will  examine  as  to  my  past,  and 
do  all  in  my  power  to  amend.  Jesus,  aid  me 
by  Thy  grace.  Pater,  Ave,  Gloria. 


ffitebnegbaj)  in  the  <Sejconb  ®eek  of  |Eent. 

Gospel. — St.  Matt . xx.  17-28. 

Picture  to  yourself  Jesus  on  His  way  to 
Jerusalem,  surrounded  by  a number  of  dis- 
ciples, and  other  persons  attracted  towards 
Him  by  various  motives.  See  Him  take  His 
twelve  chosen  Apostles  aside,  and  hear  Him 
communicate  to  them  the  solemn  history  of 
what  was  to  befall  Him.  Listen  to  His  words ; 
take  them  into  your  heart,  andponderon  them. 


Consider  how  Jesus  delights  to  call  Him- 
self the  Son  of  man  in  His  humility.  There 
was  a singular  appropriateness  in  His  doing 
so  on  this  occasion,  because  as  simply  the 
Son  of  God,  begotten  of  the  Father  from  all 


46 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


eternity,  He  was  incapable  of  suffering.  But 
to  redeem  us,  and  out  of  pure  love  to  us,  He 
chose  to  become  man,  and  to  be  born  of  the 
Immaculate  Virgin  Mary,  that  so  He  might 
be  able  to  suffer  for  us.  No  man,  nay,  not  all 
the  pure  Angels  who  ever  adore  before  the 
throne  of  God,  could  have  thought  of  such  a 
means  for  man’s  redemption.  It  was  only 
the  eternal  and  infinite  love  of  God  that 
could  have  conceived  the  thought,  that  God 
should  become  man,  for  this  very  purpose, 
that  He  might  be  able  to  suffer.  Oh  ! what 
love  God  has  had  for  us  from  the  very  begin- 
ning ! What  love  for  us  burned  in  the  Sacred 
Heart  of  Jesus  ! 


ir. 

He  goes  on  to  tell  those  wonder-stricken 
Apostles  that  He  shall  be  betrayed.  It  was 
not  enough  for  the  love  of  Jesus  towards  us 
that  His  enemies  should  obtain  possession  of 
Him  by  any  means.  Treachery  was  to  do 
the  work.  We  have  heard  of  princes  being 
betrayed  by  those  whom  they  had  loaded 
with  favours,  of  friends  being  betrayed  by 
those  whom  they  had  trusted  with  entire  con- 
fidence, and  our  hearts  have  burned  with  a 
most  natural  and  honest  indignation. 

We  hate  the  name  of  traitor  or  betrayer. 
We  would  rather  be  called  almost  anything 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


47 


than  traitor ; there  is  such  an  instinctive 
horror  of  treachery  implanted  in  the  human 
breast.  What,  then,  must  have  been  the 
sense  of  horror  which  Jesus,  the  Son  of  God, 
and  the  Son  of  man,  had  in  His  Sacred  Heart 
of  the  dastardly  crime  by  which  He  was  to 
be  betrayed  ! He  had  all  the  hatred  of  God 
for  sin,  and  all  the  detestation  of  man  for  this 
peculiar  one  of  betrayal.  And  He  knew  and 
felt  that  treachery  was  hanging  over  Him  like 
a dark  cloud  : and,  worst  of  all ! that  this 
treachery  was  to  come  from  a friend,  from 
one  of  His  chosen  Apostles,  from  one  whom 
He  had  loaded  with  favours,  and  taken  into 
His  most  intimate  confidence.  Oh  ! fearful 
weight  of  woe  and  sadness  that  oppressed 
His  dear  Sacred  Heart  ! 

in. 

Consider  how  Jesus  calmly  narrated  to  His 
Apostles  the  details  of  His  coming  sufferings; 
that  He  should  be  betrayed  to  the  priests 
and  the  Scribes,  men  whose  very  position 
should  have  ranged  them  on  His  side ; that 
they  should  condemn  Him,  the  Lord  of  life, 
to  death ; that  they  should  deliver  Him  to 
pagans  to  be  mocked,  and  scourged,  and 
crucified.  Look  upon  His  face  while  He 
tells  these  things,  and  try  to  enter  into  the 
feelings  of  His  Sacred  Heart  at  the  prospect 


48 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


of  all  that  is  to  come  upon  Him.  The  fact 
of  His  being  God  intensifies  it  all  to  Him  ! 
for  He  sees  it  all  most  exactly  and  most 
perfectly.  Moreover,  His  Divine  will  chose 
that  He  should  suffer.  He  therefore  chose 
suffering  with  an  intensity  of  which  we  can 
form  no  conception,  and  the  prospect  of  His 
agony  was  in  proportion  to  the  actual  severity 
of  it  when  it  really  came  upon  Him.  And 
yet  He  speaks  of  it  all  so  calmly  that  when 
the  mother  of  the  sons  of  Zebedee  comes  to 
Him  He  is  ready  to  listen  to  her,  and  to 
enter  into  conversation  with  her.  Admire 
the  quiet  dignity  of  Jesus,  and  urge  your 
heart  to  love  Him  more  and  more. 

O Jesus  ! I resolve  to  love  Thee  more  and 
more,  and  to  make  Thee  a suitable  return  by 
never  doing  anything  to  offend  Thee,  and  by 
doing  all  that  I know  Thou  wouldst  wish  me 
to  do.  Do  Thou  aid  me  by  Thy  grace. 
Pater,  Ave,  Gloria. 


^hursbag  in  the  Second  SBeek  of  gent 

Gospel. — St . Luke  xvi.  19-31. 

Sit  at  the  feet  of  our  dear  Lord,  and  drink 
in  His  words  as  a draught  of  heavenly 
wisdom.  Do  not  think  of  the  Pharisees,  nor 
of  anyone  but  of  Jesus  and  thyself. 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


49 


I. 

Jesus,  in  the  parable  of  Lazarus  and  the 
rich  man,  wishes  to  impress  upon  us  the 
vanity  of  all  earthly  good  things  ; that  is,  their 
emptiness  and  uselessness  for  the  acquire- 
ment of  eternal  happiness,  unless  they  be 
employed  as  God  wishes  us  to  employ  them. 
All  the  temporal  goods  which  we  possess  are 
given  to  us  by  Almighty  God  in  trust.  We 
are  the  trustees  and  dispensers  of  them,  and 
shall  have  to  give  an  account  to  Him  of  the 
use  we  have  made  of  them.  The  use  to 
which  He  wills  that  we  should  put  them  is 
to  make  them  conduce  to  the  everlasting 
salvation  of  our  souls.  This  is  the  case 
with  everything  that  we  have.  All  that  God 
gives  us  is  good  in  itself,  and  if  we  come 
to  harm  through  it,  it  is  all  our  own  doing. 
Lawfully  acquired  riches  are  good  in  them- 
selves, but  they  become  mere  vanities  if  we 
simply  use  them  for  our  own  gratification — 
things  that  will  pass  away  when  the  breath 
leaves  our  bodies,  and  leave  behind  only 
remorse  and  suffering. 


ii. 

We  may  make  a good  use  of  riches  and 
other  temporal  things,  and  thus  lay  up  trea- 
sures in  heaven,  where  no  rust  will  consume 

4 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


So 

them,  and  no  thieves  will  break  in  and  steal. 
The  use  which  Jesus  inculcates  in  the  Gospel 
of  to-day  is  that  by  which  we  alleviate  the 
sufferings  and  poverty  of  our  needy  brethren. 
Do  we  reflect  sufficiently  upon  this  duty  of 
Christian  charity  ? We  may  say  that  we 
have  very  little  for  ourselves,  and,  conse- 
quently, cannot  spare  anything  for  others ; 
but  would  it  not  be  better  for  us  to  deprive 
ourselves  sometimes  of  some  little  extra 
pleasure,  some  little  delicacy,  some  trifling 
piece  of  finery,  in  order  that  we  may  have 
something  to  bestow  in  alms  ? The  alms  of  the 
poor,  which  involve  a real  sacrifice,  are  very 
pleasing  to  God,  and  very  dear  to  the  Sacred 
Heart  of  Jesus.  It  will  be  a good  exercise 
during  Lent  to  see  what  we  can  lay  by  for 
the  poor,  and  to  bestow  it  for  the  love  of 
Him  Who  so  greatly  loves  the  poor. 

hi. 

Jesus  Christ  chose  for  Himself  a life  of 
poverty.  He  more  nearly  resembled  Lazarus 
than  the  rich  man.  Yet  He  could,  as  the 
Lord  and  Master  of  all  things,  to  Whom 
belonged  the  earth  and  the  fulness  thereof, 
have  surrounded  Himself  with  prosperity, 
affluence,  and  every  luxury,  if  He  had  so 
willed.  He  Who  could  command  legions  of 
Angels  could  have  summoned  all  the  riches 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS  51 

of  the  world  to  His  feet;  yet  He  chose 
poverty,  to  teach  us  how  we  should  be  de- 
tached from  the  things  of  the  world,  and  to 
manifest  His  love  for  the  poor,  who  are 
emphatically  called  by  the  Church  the  poor 
of  Christ.  Poverty  is  no  disgrace  under  the 
Christian  dispensation.  It  has  been  dignified 
by  the  life  and  the  practice  of  Jesus,  and, 
in  imitation  of  Plim,  by  the  practice  of  His 
Saints. 

Let  me  consider  what  I have  done  with 
what  God  has  given  me.  Supposing  me  to 
be  rich  : have  I remembered  that  my  riches 
were  only  given  to  me  in  trust  ? And  have 
I,  out  of  my  abundance,  been  ready  to  assist 
those  who  need  my  aid  to  the  utmost  of  my 
ability  ? Supposing  that  I have  but  moderate 
means,  or  that  I am  in  actual  poverty,  have 
I still  had  no  way  in  which  I could  show 
that  I am  a true  Catholic,  by  making  some 
little  sacrifice  for  the  benefit,  however  appa- 
rently slight,  of  those  still  poorer  than  my- 
self ? I will  seriously  think  of  these  things, 
and  for  Thy  sake,  O loving  Jesus,  I will 
amend  my  conduct,  lest  I share  in  the  con- 
demnation of  the  rich  man.  Rather  let  me 
be  poor  as  Lazarus  and  enjoy  heaven  than 
be  abounding  in  worldly  affluence  and  lost 
for  ever.  Jesus,  aid  me  by  Thy  grace.  Pater, 
Ave,  Gloria. 


4—2 


52 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


Jfrtbaj)  in  the  <Sermtb  SBeek  of  gDent. 

Gospel. — St.  Matt  xxi.  33-46. 

Imagine  yourself  standing  with  the  crowd 
around  Jesus  ; look  upon  Him,  and  hear  His 
words. 

1. 

The  vineyard  spoken  of  by  Jesus  to  the 
Jews  signifies  the  synagogue;  and  Jesus  tells 
them  how  the  vineyard  shall  be  taken  from 
them — that  is,  how  the  Gentiles  shall  be 
brought  together  to  be  the  possessors  of  the 
covenant,  the  Church,  and  how  they  shall  be 
deprived  of  their  inheritance  on  account  of 
their  ill-treatment  of  the  prophets,  and  of 
their  awful  crime  in  putting  to  death  the 
only  Son  of  God,  the  Master  of  the  vineyard. 
In  a spiritual  sense,  the  words  of  Jesus  may 
apply  to  the  grace  which  God  gives  to  each 
Christian  soul,  which  is  the  vineyard  in- 
trusted to  each  one’s  care.  This  grace  has 
to  be  cultivated  with  extreme  assiduity  and 
watchfulness,  and  the  Master  of  the  vineyard 
will  expect  a return  in  proportion  to  the 
amount  of  grace  given  How  many  graces 
have  I not  received  from  God  ! I cannot 
count  them.  Have  I put  them  to  the  best 
advantage,  and  cultivated  them  so  as  to  make 
a suitable  and  proportionate  return  to  my 
Master  ? 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


53 


II. 

On  the  contrary,  have  I not  terribly  neg- 
lected the  grace  which  He  has  given  me? 
Have  I not,  by  my  sins  and  my  spiritual 
sloth,  turned  His  gifts  to  nought,  nay,  even 
against  the  very  Giver  of  them,  so  as,  if  it 
were  possible,  to  make  Him  a loser  by  His 
generosity?  Again,  I feel  that  I have  shut 
the  ears  of  my  heart  to  the  admonitions  of 
my  conscience,  to  the  teaching  of  the  Church 
by  her  pastors,  to  the  counsels  of  my  director, 
to  the  advice  or  commands  of  my  parents  or 
other  superiors,  and  to  the  warnings  of  my 
truest  friends.  And  thus  I have  ill-treated 
and  driven  away  the  messengers  sent  to  me 
by  my  Master.  Nay,  I have  spurned  His  only 
Son,  and,  as  far  as  lay  in  my  power,  I have 
put  Him  to  death  again,  by  making  His  death 
and  His  merits  of  no  use  to  me.  I have 
despised  Him,  and  have  preferred  to  take 
my  own  way  to  following  Him  Who  is  ‘the 
Way,  the  Truth,  and  the  Life.’  The  vine- 
yard of  my  soul  has  thus,  by  my  fault,  been 
laid  desolate,  the  wild  beast  of  sin  has  de- 
voured it,  and  in  place  of  the  fruits  of  virtue, 
I have  nothing  to  show  but  the  briars  and 
thorns  of  vice.  Is  this  really  my  case,  or 
can  I conscientiously  say  that  it  is  not  ? 

If  it  be  my  case,  what  am  I to  expect  if  I 


54 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


do  not  instantly  set  to  work  in  earnest  to  re- 
pair the  past,  and  to  make  good  the  future  ? 
I can  only  look  for  the  judgment  pronounced 
against  those  wicked  husbandmen  in  the 
Gospel.  God’s  grace  will  be  withdrawn  from 
me  altogether,  and  given  to  others  who  will 
cultivate  it  well.  Perhaps  I feel  that  I am 
not  so  fervent  as  I once  was ; that  I do  not 
relish  spiritual  things  as  I once  did ; that  my 
soul  is  becoming  lukewarm  and  negligent, 
and  is  not  all  this  a sign  of  the  withdrawal 
of  God’s  grace?  It  is  a terrible  thing  to 
find,  as  we  are  advancing  in  age,  that  we  are 
not  so  good  as  we  used  to  be.  God  grant 
that  this  may  not  be  my  case.  Let  me  care- 
fully examine  whether  it  be  so  or  not,  and  if 
I find  that  it  is,  I will  seek  for  the  cause, 
and  root  it  out  as  a noxious  weed  that  im- 
pedes the  growth  of  God’s  grace  in  my  soul, 
and  will  bring  me  to  destruction. 

O Jesus  ! Thou  knowest  what  I am,  and 
what  I am  worth  in  Thy  sight.  I cannot 
conceal  my  real  state  from  Thee,  however 
much  I may  veil  my  baseness  from  others  by 
hypocrisy,  and  from  myself  by  a wilful  blind- 
ness. I will  really  examine  my  conscience  ; 
I will  make  a good  confession,  and  with  Thy 
helping  grace  try  to  make  my  soul  worthy 
of  a visit  from  Thee.  Pater,  Ave,  Gloria. 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


55 


(Saturtmg  in  the  <Seconh  5Seek  of 
Sent. 

Gospel. — St.  Luke  xv.  11-32. 

Imagine  Jesus  Christ  as  a father  whom 
you  have  offended,  and  whose  home  you 
have  left ; and  then  think  of  yourself  as  an 
outcast,  miserable,  poor,  and  forlorn,  with 
the  thoughts  of  the  old  home  just  rising  in 
your  heart. 

1. 

Consider  the  miserable  state  of  the  prodigal 
son,  far  away  from  his  own  home,  and  that 
by  his  own  fault.  All  his  means  are  squan- 
dered in  debauchery  and  excess  ; he  has  not 
a friend  now  that  he  is  no  longer  rich ; he  is 
very  hungry,  and  is  sent  to  feed  swine,  and 
would  fain  satisfy  himself  with  husks,  but 
there  is  no  one  who  will  give  him  any.  What 
a picture  of  desolation  this  presents  to  us  ! 
He  who  had  been  so  delicately  nurtured  has 
fallen  into  such  utter  woe  ! See  him  starving, 
with  death  staring  from  his  hollow  eyes,  and 
envying  the  very  hogs.  Sad  as  this  picture 
is,  it  is  but  a faint  likeness  of  a soul  that  has 
quitted  its  Father’s  house  through  sin.  It 
has  wandered  away  from  God,  and  has  sought 
to  satisfy  itself  with  forbidden  delights,  but 
has  found  them  empty  and  hollow.  Nothing 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


56 

can  make  up  for  the  loss  of  the  quiet  and 
holy  joys  of  its  Father’s  house.  All  that  was 
worth  having  is  gone.  It  is  weary,  desolate, 
hungry,  almost  despairing.  O my  soul ! art 
thou  in  this  state?  If  thou  art  not,  it  is 
only  by  the  mercy  of  God ; and  let  the 
thought  of  such  desolation  keep  thee  ever  in 
thy  Father’s  home — that  is,  in  God’s  grace. 


11. 

At  last  the  thought  of  home  came  to  the 
poor  prodigal’s  heart.  He  thought  of  the 
old  days  of  innocence  and  peace.  Thought 
how,  even  now,  the  hired  servants  at  home 
were  abounding  in  bread,  while  he  was  starv- 
ing. He  makes  no  delay,  but  says  at  once  he 
will  go  home  to  his  father  and  confess  his 
fault.  Far  from  urging  any  claim,  he  will 
tell  his  father  that  he  is  not  worthy  to  be 
called  his  son.  What  a beautiful  picture  of 
a repenting  soul ! First  there  is  regret  for 
the  good  that  is  lost,  and  a sense  of  the 
present  actual  misery  of  sin  ; then  the  deter- 
mination to  return  to  God,  with  love  for  Him 
and  confidence  in  Him,  a deep  sense  of  un- 
worthiness, and  a sincere  sorrow  for  the  past, 
combined  with  a resolution,  such  as  we  may 
be  sure  existed  in  the  prodigal’s  heart,  of 
never  again  offending. 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


57 


III. 

How  ready  the  father  was  to  forgive  and 
receive  his  penitent  child  ! Doubtless  he 
was  watching  eagerly  for  his  return,  for  he 
sees  him  from  afar,  ‘ a long  way  off,’  and  run- 
ning to  him  falls  upon  his  neck,  and  kisses 
him.  Not  content  with  this,  he  clothes  him 
with  the  best  robe,  puts  a ring  on  his  finger 
and  shoes  on  his  feet,  and  makes  a great 
banquet  to  celebrate  his  return.  If  such  be 
the  love  and  goodness  of  an  earthly  parent, 
what  is  the  love  of  the  great  loving  heart  of 
Jesus  to  a repentant  soul ! We  cannot 
fathom  or  measure  it,  it  is  so  immense  and  so 
intense.  What  an  encouragement  this  ought 
to  be  to  us  to  arise  at  once  from  our  misery, 
and  to  return  to  Him  ! He  is  watching  for 
us,  and  will  come  to  meet  us.  What  does 
this  mean  ? It  means  that  He  has  estab- 
lished a holy  Sacrament  to  which  His  Church 
is  ever  calling  us,  the  Sacrament  of  Penance, 
where  He  sits  looking  for  us  and  expecting 
us.  The  wish  and  intention  of  reconciling 
ourselves  with  Him  by  its  means  will  draw 
Him  towards  us  by  His  grace,  and  will  bring 
grace  to  us.  Then  with  contrition,  confes- 
sion, and  satisfaction  joined  with  the  holy 
absolution,  we  shall  be  embraced  to  His 
heart,  clothed  with  grace,  and  loaded  with 
Divine  favours. 


5^ 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


Oh  ! how  can  I ever  deliberately  and  in- 
tentionally neglect  to  reconcile  myself  with 
God  ! The  state  of  my  soul  in  sin  is  a con- 
dition of  utter  misery,  which  is  only  a pre- 
lude to  the  eternal  woe,  if  I do  not  repent 
I will  do  so,  O my  Jesus  ! I will  go  home. 
I will  seek  again  the  ways  of  innocence  and 
peace,  and  with  Thy  grace  I will  never, 
never  more  desert  them  and  Thee.  Pater, 
Ave,  Gloria. 


^hirb  <SunDa|)  of  |Eent. 

Gospel. — St.  Luke  xi.  14-28. 

Imagine  you  see  Jesus  exercising  all  the 
majesty  of  His  power  over  the  evil  spirit, 
and  expelling  him  perhaps  by  a word,  a 
touch,  a gesture,  a glance,  or  a mere  effort  of 
His  will,  but  without  any  display  or  ostenta- 
tion. 

1. 

St.  Matthew  tells  us  (xii.  22)  that  this 
possessed  person  was  blind  as  well  as  dumb ; 
and  his  condition  well  represents  the  state 
of  a soul  in  mortal  and  obstinate  sin.  A 
soul  in  mortal  sin  is  in  the  possession  of  the 
devil,  for  the  grace  of  God  is  not  there ; the 
devil  can  see  in  it  a counterpart  of  himself, 
and  if  the  person  were  to  die  in  that  state, 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


59 


the  soul  would  be  the  property  of  the  devil, 
and  would  share  his  damnation  for  all  eternity. 
It  is  also  in  the  devil’s  possession,  because  in 
wilfully  falling  into  mortal  sin,  or  deliberately 
remaining  in  that  state,  the  soul  makes  itself 
a slave  of  the  devil ; it  does  the  devil’s  will 
instead  of  God’s  will.  For  a free  man  to  be 
made  by  force  a slave  to  an  earthly  master 
is  considered  rightly  to  be  one  of  the  greatest 
misfortunes  that  could  possibly  befall  him. 
What,  then,  must  it  be  to  be  a slave  of  the 
devil ! For  a man  willingly  to  enslave  him- 
self bodily  to  another,  unless  through  some 
motive  of  Divine  charity,  would  be  thought 
an  inconceivable  degradation ; and  if  a man 
so  gives  up  his  freedom  of  spirit  to  another, 
that  he  will  perform  at  his  bidding  the  basest 
and  most  dishonourable  actions,  he  is  justly 
looked  upon  as  one  of  the  lowest  of  mankind. 
And  yet  this  is  just  what  the  soul  does  when 
it  falls  into  or  remains  in  mortal  sin.  The 
only  difference  is  that  it  surrenders  itself  to 
the  devil  instead  of  to  a man. 

ii. 

, When  thus  in  the  devil’s  possession,  it  be- 
comes blind,  like  the  man  in  the  Gospel ; 
blind  to  the  goodness  of  God  and  the  beauty 
of  virtue;  blind  to  the  frightful  state  in  which 
it  is,  as  well  as  to  the  terrible  consequences 


6o 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


of  being  in  that  state.  It  is  blind  also  as  to 
the  enormity  of  sin,  and  the  horrible  havoc 
which  sin  creates  in  it ; blind  to  its  utter 
deformity ; blind  to  all  its  true  interests ; 
blind  to  the  attractions  of  God’s  grace.  And 
there  is  danger  of  this  blindness  deepening 
and  darkening,  so  that  the  soul  may  be 
utterly  shut  out  from  the  influence  of  God’s 
grace,  and  go  forth  to  eternity  in  final  im- 
penitence. Let  me  examine  my  soul  in  time 
to  cure  it  of  spiritual  blindness,  if  such  exist 
in  it. 

hi. 

It  is  also  dumb.  It  cannot  pray;  prayer 
has  become  distasteful  and  wearisome,  and 
all  the  faithful,  and  confiding,  and  affectionate 
expressions  it  once  made  use  of  towards 
Almighty  God  have  died  away  from  its  lips. 
And  the  longer  it  remains  in  mortal  sin,  the 
more  will  it  forget  prayer.  It  is  dumb  also 
for  asking  advice  from  those  competent  to 
afford  it  on  spiritual  matters.  It  takes  its 
own  way,  without  asking  whether  it  be  the 
right  way  or  not,  and  indeed  without  caring. 
It  is  dumb  with  regard  to  confession,  either 
not  approaching  the  Sacrament  of  Penance, 
or,  worse  still,  making  bad,  sacrilegious  con- 
fessions. It  is  dumb  with  respect  to  giving 
good  advice  to  others,  or  speaking  for  the 
honour  and  glory  of  God  and  for  the  salvation 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


6 1 


of  souls.  What  a state  for  a man  to  reduce 
himself  to  willingly  ! It  would  seem,  at  first 
sight,  to  be  as  hopeless  as  the  case  of  one 
corporally  blind  and  dumb ; but  as  in  the 
latter  case  there  was  a means  of  cure,  so 
in  the  former  we  may  find  one  if  we  listen  in 
time  to  the  voice  of  our  conscience,  and  yield 
to  the  urging  of  God’s  grace. 

O my  God,  preserve  me  from  ever  falling 
into  mortal  sin,  or,  if  I should  unhappily  fall, 
give  me  grace  to  rise  again.  But  what  am  I 
saying  ? perhaps  I am  now  in  that  dreadful 
state.  I will  examine  my  heart  and  my 
conscience,  dear  Jesus;  I will  lose  no  time, 
and  I will  seek  to  be  delivered  from  my 
slavery,  by  hastening  to  make  a good  con- 
fession. Jesus,  aid  me  by  Thy  grace.  Pater, 
Ave,  Gloria. 

JHonbag  in  the  ^hirb  ®eek  oi  ^ent* 

Gospel. — St.  Luke  iv.  23-30. 

Imagine  you  see  Jesus  taken  to  the  brow 
of  the  hill  to  be  cast  down  headlong,  and  so 
killed ; but  mysteriously  passing  through  the 
crowd,  He  goes  His  way. 

1. 

Reflect,  by  way  of  contemplation,  on  the 
anger  and  hatred  of  the  Pharisees  against  our 


62 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


dear  Lord,  and  unite  your  heart  in  sympathy 
with  His  Sacred  Heart.  The  Pharisees  were 
like  fierce  wolves  around  the  Lamb  of  God, 
Who,  all  meekness  and  gentleness,  stood  so 
calmly  in  the  midst  of  them.  If  you  observe 
Him  well,  you  will  see  no  resentment  in 
Him,  no  disturbance  of  spirit,  no  eager  haste 
to  escape  their  fury,  no  fear,  no  gestures 
indicative  of  impatience,  terror,  or  revenge. 
What  a noble  yet  sweet  object  of  contempla- 
tion is  Jesus,  so  calm  in  the  midst  of  the 
tempest  of  anger  that  is  raging  around  Him  ! 
Not  one  angry  word  escapes  him,  not  a prayer 
to  those  men  that  they  will  not  wreak  their 
vengeance  upon  Him.  Look  into  His  Sacred 
Heart,  and  you  will  find  it  all  on  fire  with 
the  love  of  those  very  men. 

ii. 

See  what  a contrast  there  is  between  Him 
and  the  Pharisees  and  others  who  fill  the 
synagogue.  They  are  all  enraged,  and  filled 
with  anger  and  hatred.  Hear  the  confused 
sound  of  their  voices  filling  the  synagogue, 
some  clamouring  for  His  death,  others 
mocking  and  deriding  Him  ; and  not  one 
word  of  kindness,  sympathy,  or  comfort 
addressed  to  Him.  Truly  all  His  sorrows 
and  pains  of  heart  and  mind  wrere  not  in  His 
Passion  alone.  This  scene  was,  in  some 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


63 


measure,  a foretaste  of  that  most  bitter 
suffering  to  come.  See  their  frantic  gestures, 
their  menacing  hands,  their  attitudes  of  threat 
or  of  derision.  And  all  this  continues  till 
they  actually  seize  upon  Him,  and  thrust  Him 
out  of  His  own  city  of  Nazareth  with  rudeness 
and  with  insult.  They  take  Him  to  the  brow 
of  the  hill  whereon  their  city  was  built,  and 
in  a tumultuous  crowd  hurry  around  Him 
with  the  murderous  intention  of  casting  Him 
headlong  from  the  height.  If  you  were  in 
that  synagogue,  and  amid  that  crowd,  would 
you  side  with  the  Pharisees,  or  with  Jesus? 
You  say  unhesitatingly,  with  Jesus.  Your 
heart  is  struck  with  horror  at  the  idea  of 
taking  part  with  those  ferocious  beings,  rather 
wild  beasts  than  men ; and  yet,  in  your 
ordinary  dealings  with  Jesus,  how  do  you 
behave  ? When  it  comes  to  actually  taking 
sides — your  passions  on  one  hand,  and  Jesus 
on  the  other — do  you  always,  invariably  join 
with  Him  ? Do  you  never,  for  fear  or  love  of 
anything  or  anyone  else,  go  against  Him  by 
committing  sin  ? 

111. 

Consider  the  simple  but  most  expressive 
words  of  the  Evangelist,  who  says  that  ‘ He, 
passing  through  the  midst  of  them,  went  His 
way.’  There  are  few  passages  of  Holy  Scrip- 
ture more  striking  than  this  description  of 


64  LENTEN  THOUGHTS 

Jesus  passing  through  the  midst  of  that  in- 
furiated Jewish  crowd  He  is  in  the  midst 
of  them,  and  suddenly  He  is  gone.  Behold 
their  stupefaction  at  seeing  Him  no  more 
there  ! They  cannot  tell  how  He  has  gone, 
nor  whither.  They  look  at  each  other  in 
utter  astonishment.  Hear  their  hesitating 
inquiries,  and  perhaps  their  expressions  of 
baffled  rage.  His  time  was  not  yet  come, 
and  He  knew  how  to  elude  them  by  the 
exercise  of  His  Divine  power.  The  con- 
templation of  this  scene  should  be  to  us  a 
source  of  great  encouragement,  especially  in 
these  times,  when  the  powers  of  the  world 
are  exercising  their  unholy  strength  against 
the  Church  of  Christ.  While  so  many  voices 
are  clamouring  for  its  destruction,  so  many 
minds  are  set  upon  its  ruin,  let  us  at  least 
resolve  to  remain  faithful,  and  thank  God  for 
His  providence  over  it. 

O Jesus  ! I compassionate  Thee  in  Thy 
sufferings,  and  I desire  to  unite  my  heart 
with  Thine.  Never  will  I take  part  with 
Thy  enemies ; never  will  I listen  to  the 
suggestions  of  evil,  or  choose  sin  in  preference 
to  Thy  law.  Though  the  whole  world  besides 
should  be  against  Thee  and  Thy  Church,  I 
wish  to  proclaim  my  loyalty,  and  to  maintain 
it  to  my  last  breath.  Give  me  grace  and 
strength  to  do  so.  Pater,  Ave,  Gloria. 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


65 


iEtteebajj  in  the  ^hirb  SSUeek  of  gCettt 
Gospel. — St.  Matt,  xviii.  15-22. 

Imagine  Jesus  to  be  visibly  before  you  and 
instructing  you.  How  would  you  act  in  such 
a case  ? You  would  listen  with  all  possible 
reverence,  attention  and  devotion.  He  speaks 
to  you  by  His  written  word;  so  listen  to  Him, 
and  gather  fruit  to  yourself. 


1. 

‘ If  two  of  you  shall  consent  upon  earth 
concerning  anything  whatsoever  they  shall 
ask,  it  shall  be  done  to  them  by  My  Father 
Who  is  in  heaven.’  These  words  were  ad- 
dressed by  our  dear  Lord  to  the  Apostles, 
but  in  their  person  they  were  spoken  to  all 
the  faithful.  How  wonderfully  consoling 
they  are  ! Take  in  their  full  meaning.  ‘ If 
two  of  you  shall  consent.’  This  shows  to  us 
how  beautiful  and  efficacious  in  the  sight  of 
God,  is  the  concord  of  Christians.  He  loves 
order  and  unity.  Disorder  and  discord  are 
diametrically  opposed  to  the  religion  of  Christ, 
Who  loves  to  see  a union  of  Catholic  hearts, 
because  we  are  all  His  brethren  ; we  have 
the  same  faith,  the  same  hopes,  and  the  same 
object  of  love.  We  have  similar  trials  and 
temptations,  and  we  look  forward  to  the  same 

5 


66 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


eternal  enjoyment  of  Him.  He  would  that 
we  were  one,  even  as  He  and  the  Father  are 
one.  What  charity  then  He  wishes  to  see 
amongst  us ! And  where  it  exists,  how 
pleasing  it  must  be  in  His  sight,  since  He 
promises  so  great  a reward  to  our  concord ! 
Let  us  examine  ourselves  upon  our  feelings 
towards  others,  and  if  we  have  any  ill-will  or 
uncharitableness,  let  us  be  reconciled,  and 
banish  all  rancour,  that  we  may  obtain  the 
objects  of  our  prayers. 


ii. 

Consider  the  efficaciousness  of  true  Chris- 
tian concord,  as  shown  to  us  by  the  unlimited 
comprehensiveness  of  Christ’s  promise.  He 
says,  { Whatsoever  they  shall  ask,  it  shall  be 
done  to  them.’  Of  course  this  means  what- 
ever good  and  lawful  thing  they  shall  ask ; 
for  God  will  never  grant  prayers  for  things 
that  are  unlawful.  Again,  our  prayer  must 
necessarily  have  the  conditions  of  good 
prayer ; that  is,  we  must  pray  with  faith, 
with  hope,  with  humility,  with  earnestness, 
and  with  perseverance.  We  must  also  pray 
with  all  deference  to  the  will  of  God,  and  to 
His  infinitely  superior  wisdom  ; for  our  own 
will  is  liable  to  be  wrong,  and  we  may  often- 
times be  mistaken  as  to  what  is  best  for  us 
under  any  given  circumstances.  This  is  par- 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


67 

ticularly  the  case  with  regard  to  temporal 
goods,  for  with  respect  to  spiritual  ones  in 
general , we  can  scarcely  go  astray  in  our 
judgment,  though  we  may  be  mistaken  in 
asking  for  particular  spiritual  goods,  since 
what  we  pray  for  may  possibly  be  not  the 
best  for  us  under  the  circumstances.  Let  us 
then  resolve  not  only  to  be  in  concord  and 
charity  with  others  when  we  pray,  but  also 
to  ask  for  everything  on  condition  that  it  is 
according  to  the  will  of  God. 

hi. 

The  special  necessity  for  this  consideration 
will  appear  when  we  reflect  how  often  it 
happens  that  God  does  not  seem  to  hear  our 
petitions,  and  that  the  immediate  object  of 
our  prayers  is  not  granted  to  us.  It  is  not 
that  God  does  not  hear  us,  or  that  He  refuses 
to  grant  our  prayers,  but  that  He  sees  that 
we  do  not  ask  for  what  is  best  for  us.  He 
hears  our  prayers  most  graciously,  and  has 
regard  to  our  sincerity,  and  so  gives  us  some- 
thing that  we  may  not  have  asked  for  or 
expected  ; something  that  may  even  seem 
repugnant  to  our  wishes,  but  still  what  He 
sees  and  knows  to  be  better  for  us,  and  more 
beneficial  to  us  than  what  we  have  prayed  for. 
How  beautiful  is  entire  submission  to  the 
will  of  God  ; perfect  conformity  of  our  own 

s— 2 


68 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


will  with  His  ! This  makes  us  very  like  our 
Divine  Model,  and  renders  us  very  pleasing 
in  the  eyes  of  God. 

O my  God  ! give  me  perfect  charity. 
Give  me  grace  to  pluck  out  from  my  heart 
every  ill  feeling  towards  any  of  my  brethren. 
Grant  me  also  grace  to  conform  my  will  with 
Thine,  that  I may  deserve  to  obtain  the 
immense  reward  which  Thou  hast  promised, 
even  on  earth,  to  those  who  pray  well.  Pater, 
Ave,  Gloria. 


in  the  ^hirh  §Mcek  oi  Sent* 
Gospel. — St.  Matt.  xv.  1-20. 

Picture  to  your  mind  our  blessed  Lord 
near  the  Lake  of  Genesareth,  and  see  the 
Scribes  and  Pharisees  coming  to  Him  from 
Jerusalem,  to  question  Him  about  the  practices 
of  His  disciples. 

1. 

Contrast  the  malice  and  falseness  of  the 
Scribes  and  Pharisees  with  the  simplicity  and 
truth  of  Jesus.  Look  into  His  face,  and  into 
theirs ; see  their  captiousness,  and  eagerness 
to  entrap  Him  ; and  see  how  meekly  He 
listens  to  them,  and  with  how  few  simple, 
but  telling  words,  He  silences  them.  The 
Scribes  claimed  for  themselves  the  criticism 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


69 


of  new  doctrines,  and  new  teachers  ; while 
the  Pharisees  made  a profession  of  extra- 
ordinary sanctity,  and  most  exact  observance 
of  the  Law.  The  former  were  arrogant 
impostors,  and  the  latter  were  hypocritical 
and  exacting.  They  sent  spies  to  listen  to 
the  teaching  of  Jesus,  and  to  watch  the 
practice  of  His  disciples.  Then  they  followed, 
and  in  their  envy  of  our  dear  Lord,  put 
questions  to  Him,  and  took  exception  to  His 
doctrine.  Listen  to  the  talk  of  these  busy 
men,  who  pretended  to  know  so  much,  and 
to  be  so  very  holy,  and  by  contrasting  them 
with  Him,  learn  to  love  and  admire  Him 
more  and  more. 


11. 

How  painful  it  must  have  been  to  Jesus  to 
be  so  frequently  beset  by  these  men  ! He 
saw  into  their  very  hearts  and  consciences, 
as  He  sees  into  mine  at  this  moment.  He 
knew  precisely  what  they  were  worth,  what 
they  knew,  and  the  exact  value  of  their  pre- 
tended holiness.  He  saw  all  the  hollowness 
of  their  pretensions,  their  real  wickedness, 
their  uncharitableness,  their  ambition  ; and, 
moreover,  He  knew  how  all  their  malice  and 
envy  were  brought  to  bear  upon  Himself; 
how  He  was  the  chief  object  of  their  hatred, 
and  how  they  were  seeking  for  a pretext  to 


70  LENTEN  THOUGHTS 

ruin  Him.  It  is  a part  of  His  mission  of 
suffering  that  He  is  to  be  troubled  and  tor- 
mented by  them  ; and  so  He  does  not  shrink 
from  meeting  them.  He  suffers  the  torture 
of  their  presence  and  of  their  impertinence, 
sparing  Himself  no  mental  pain  for  the  sake 
of  us  poor  creatures.  How  painful  and 
annoying  it  would  be  to  me  to  have  about 
me  men  whom  I knew  I could  not  trust,  men 
whose  falseness  I had  proved.  And  to  be 
questioned  by  them,  and  to  have  my  conduct 
contrasted  with  theirs,  while  I knew  that  they 
had  no  right  to  trouble  me  ! The  pain  of 
Jesus  was  infinitely  greater  than  any  that  I 
can  feel,  not  only  on  account  of  His  infinite 
knowledge  of  men’s  hearts,  and  of  His  infinite 
hatred  of  sin  and  hypocrisy,  but  also  on 
account  of  the  intensity  of  His  will  to  suffer. 

0 Jesus  ! what  hast  Thou  not  gone  through 
for  me  ! And  how  very  little  in  comparison 

1 endure  for  Thy  sweet  sake. 

iii. 

The  Scribes  and  Pharisees  accused  the 
disciples  of  the  breach  of  a mere  ceremonial 
observance,  while,  as  Jesus  showed  them, 
they  were  guilty  of  a breach  of  one  of  the 
commandments,  setting  it  at  nought  for  a 
tradition  of  their  own.  Similar  conduct  is 
characteristic  of  those  who  are  fond  of 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


7 1 


finding  fault  with  their  neighbours.  Let  us 
examine  ourselves  upon  this  point,  and  see 
what  our  conduct  is.  Are  we  much  given  to 
talking  about  our  neighbours,  and  to  criticising 
their  words  and  actions  ? If  so,  is  what  we 
say  or  think  generally  to  their  advantage,  and 
in  their  favour  ? Or  is  it  usually  against 
them  ? In  this  sort  of  talk,  have  we  not  a 
lurking  wish  to  contrast  their  conduct  with 
ours,  in  a sense  favourable  to  ourselves,  and 
to  impress  our  hearers  with  an  idea  of  our 
superiority  either  in  knowledge  or  in  good- 
ness ? And  if  we  were  to  pursue  this 
examination  further,  and  sincerely  search 
into  our  own  souls,  should  we  not  often,  even 
generally,  find  that  we  have  failings  ourselves 
which  are  greater  than  those  we  blame  ? 
Nay,  that  we  are  worse  than  our  neighbour 
in  the  very  vices  or  defects  which  we 
reprobate  in  him  ? Let  us  learn  a lesson  of 
charity  from  observing  its  opposite  in  the 
conduct  of  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees  as 
related  in  the  Gospel. 

I compassionate  Thee,  my  Jesus,  in  endur- 
ing the  torment  of  having  sinners  and  hypo- 
crites about  Thee,  and  still  more  in  the  pain 
that  I have  given  Thy  Loving  Heart  by  all  my 
proud,  pretentious,  and  uncharitable  con- 
versation. I humble  myself  before  Thee, 
and  pray  with  all  the  fervour  of  which  I am 


7 2 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


capable,  that  I may  take  Thee  for  my  pattern, 
that  I may  be  cautious  in  my  language,  and 
never  offend  Thy  Sacred  Heart  by  my  un- 
charitableness. I resolve,  with  Thy  grace, 
to  amend.  Pater,  Ave,  Gloria. 

in  the  SEtok  of  HJent4 

Gospel. — St . Luke  iv.  38-44. 

Look  upon  Jesus  Christ  as  the  heavenly 
physician  who  comes  to  cure  your  soul  of 
its  infirmities,  and  imagine  that  you  are 
presenting  yourself  to  Him  as  a sick  person 
who  wishes  to  be  healed. 


1. 

Jesus  Christ,  as  God,  has  entire  power 
over  everything  ; not  only  over  the  tangible 
things  of  His  creation,  but  over  the  con- 
ditions under  which  those  things  exist.  In 
His  hands,  and  subject  to  His  power,  are 
distress  and  prosperity,  sickness  and  health, 
and  all  the  other  states  of  being.  In  the 
examples  placed  before  us  in  the  Gospel  of 
this  day,  we  see  Him  exercising  His  right 
over  all  things  as  one  having  power.  Picture 
Him  to  your  mind  as  being  besought  by 
St.  Peter’s  friends  that  He  would  cure  his 
mother-in-law  of  the  great  fever  which 
oppressed  her;  and  then  standing  over  her 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


73 


with  unspeakable  meekness,  and,  making  no 
display  of  His  majestic  power,  commanding 
the  fever  as  if  it  were  a reasoning  being,  and 
an  obedient  subject  of  His  authority.  ‘ He 
commanded  the  fever,  and  it  left  her/ 
Short,  and  simple,  and  to  the  purpose,  are 
these  wonderful  words.  There  is  a mere 
command,  accompanied  by  a touch  of  the 
hand,  as  St.  Matthew  tells  us  (viii.  15) ; and 
the  fever  is  gone.  So  instantaneously  is  the 
cure  effected,  that  4 immediately  rising,  she 
ministered  to  them.’  Admire  the  power  of 
our  dear  Lord,  and  endeavour  to  arouse  in 
your  heart  a higher  appreciation  of  Him. 
Admire  also  His  loving  kindness  which 
listened  at  once  to  the  request  for  this  cure ; 
and  the  comprehensiveness  of  His  love, 
which  did  not  stop  here,  but  went  on  to  heal 
‘ every  one  ’ of  those  brought  to  Him,  sick  of 
divers  diseases. 


11. 

Jesus  was  not  only  the  heavenly  physician 
of  those  who  had  the  privilege  of  beholding 
Him  on  earth  ; He  is  also  our  physician,  and 
His  especial  province  is  to  cure  the  diseases 
of  our  souls.  God  knows  under  how  many 
diseases  they  suffer ; and  it  becomes  our 
duty,  if  we  would  have  our  souls  cured, 
to  examine  into  their  state,  and  find  out 


74  LENTHN  THOUGHTS 

their  maladies.  Our  passions  are  a true 
fever  of  the  soul.  They  torture  and  torment 
us,  and  allow  us  no  rest.  We  desire  to  love 
and  serve  God,  we  even  try  to  do  so  ; but 
our  life  is  a warfare  with  our  passions,  which 
are  always  upon  us,  agitating  our  souls, 
causing  distress  of  mind,  scruples,  and  what 
not.  As  the  fever  of  the  body  is  often 
caused  by  cold,  so  the  fever  of  the  soul 
frequently  springs  from  slackness  and  negli- 
gence in  the  service  of  God.  Relaxation  of 
duty,  and  neglect  of  prayer,  good  works,  and 
the  Sacraments,  give  strength  to  the  passions, 
and  make  it  more  and  more  difficult  for  us 
to  overcome  them.  We  should  not  willingly 
do  anything  that  we  apprehended  would  give 
us  a fever;  and  ordinarily  we  omit  no  pre- 
caution to  ward  off  from  us  so  great  a 
calamity.  And  yet  we  are  so  careless  about 
our  soul’s  health  ! We  do  so  many  things 
calculated  to  give  strength  and  vigour  to  our 
passions,  and  are  so  little  cautious  about 
guarding  against  their  influence ! Let  us 
examine  ourselves  as  to  our  conduct. 

in. 

Jesus  is  ever  ready  to  cure  us  if  we  will 
but  apply  to  Him.  He  can  give  us  a remedy 
to  counteract  the  unwholesome  influence  of 
our  passions.  He  places  this  remedy  within 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


75 


our  reach,  and  with  all  the  tenderness  of  His 
love  invites  and  urges  us  to  make  use  of  it. 
By  the  voice  of  His  Church  He  is  ever 
calling  us  to  it.  This  remedy  is  nothing  less 
than  Himself ; His  own  most  precious  Body 
and  Blood  in  the  adorable  Sacrament  of  the 
Altar.  He  Himself  is  a virgin,  and  the  Son 
of  a virgin;  and  His  virginal  flesh  will  subdue 
the  burning  of  concupiscence.  For  His  dear 
sake,  let  us  hasten  to  apply  this  blessed 
remedy;  and  let  us  now,  at  this  moment, 
resolve  to  approach  the  holy  table  as  often 
as  we  can,  and  our  director  may  think  fit 
for  us. 

O my  Jesus ! while  I admire  Thy  good- 
ness and  Thy  might,  I am  confused  at  the 
sight  of  my  own  soul  which  responds  so  little 
to  Thy  mercy,  and  makes  so  little  use  of  Thy 
power.  By  Thy  grace  this  shall  be  so  no 
longer.  I know  how  many  passions  beset 
me,  and  will  ruin  me  eternally,  if  I do  not 
take  the  remedy  which  Thou  offerest  for  the 
subduing  of  them.  I will  make  use  of  this 
remedy.  I will  not  neglect  my  duties  of 
prayer,  good  works,  and  especially  of  receiving 
Thee  in  the  most  Blessed  Sacrament.  Jesus, 
aid  me  by  Thy  grace.  Pater,  Ave,  Gloria. 


76 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


Jfriimp  in  the  ^hirb  (SBeck  of  |Cent. 

Gospel. — St.  John  iv.  5-41. 

Behold  Jesus  seated  at  the  well;  listen  to 
His  conversation  with  the  Samaritan  woman, 
and  see  what  you  can  draw  from  His  conduct 
to  induce  you  to  love  Him  more. 

1. 

How  touching  are  those  words  about  our 
dear  Lord  that  tell  us  that  Jesus  was  4 wearied 
with  His  journey.'  Imagine  some  true- 
hearted friend  of  yours,  or  perhaps  some  dear 
and  near  relative  whose  affectionate  heart 
loves  you  very  dearly,  and  think  of  such  a 
one  far  from  home,  wandering  through  the 
country  on  foot,  bearing  the  cold  and  the 
heat,  hunger  and  thirst ; footsore  and  weary 
he  sits  by  a roadside  fountain,  and  begs  a drop 
of  water,  for  pity's  sake,  from  the  first  comer. 
His  journey  is  undertaken  as  an  errand  of 
kindness,  and  goodness,  and  charity,  and  no 
labour  or  fatigue  is  too  great  for  his  love.  If 
you  were  to  think  of  this  your  heart  would 
be  moved,  and  you  would  probably  shed  tears 
of  sympathy  and  affection.  But  how  much 
greater  would  your  admiration  be,  when  you 
came  to  know  that  he  was  undergoing  all 
this  painful  journey  and  suffering  for  persons 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


77 


whom  he  knew  would  insult  and  reject  him, 
and  would  even  put  him  to  death  ? But  there 
is  yet  another  degree  of  pitying  love  at  which 
you  would  arrive,  when  you  thought  that  all 
this  laborious  travelling  and  painful  endur- 
ance was  for  you  ; and  then,  that  you  have 
so  often  forgotten  it  all,  and  have  treated  him 
as  some  one  quite  indifferent  to  you,  as  one 
who  did  not  care  for  you,  and  for  whom  you 
had  no  concern.  In  a moment  of  better 
thoughts,  would  not  your  heaving  heart  send 
up  the  bitter  tears  of  remorse  to  your  eyes  ? 
And  if  you  could  see  that  friend,  would  you 
not  clasp  him  to  your  heart,  and  pour  out 
protestations  of  gratitude  and  of  undying 
love  ? Would  you  not  wish  that  you  could 
make  some  great  sacrifice  in  order  to  express 
the  intensity  of  your  feelings  ? Shall  it  be 
otherwise  with  Jesus  ? 


ii. 

Jesus  did  and  suffered  all  this  for  you. 
You  who  read  this  page,  and  I who  write  it, 
were  in  His  mind  and  in  His  Heart  all  the 
while,  clearly  and  distinctly  ; and  He  did  all 
for  each  one  of  us,  just  as  much  as  if  each 
one  existed  alone  in  the  world.  Is  it  possible 
that  the  Son  of  God  should  be  wearied  and 
wayworn  for  my  sake?  That  for  me  He 
should  have  to  beg  for  a draught  of  water  ? 


78 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


Yes,  He  is  the  faithful  Friend  Who  never 
spared  Himself  for  my  sake ; Who  loves  me 
with  an  eternal  love ; Who  on  that  particular 
journey,  and  during  that  particular  weariness, 
thought  of  me,  not  as  mixed  up  with  the  mass 
of  mankind,  and  forming  but  an  atom  in  the 
multitude,  but  of  me  individually  and  per- 
sonally. O my  Jesus  ! I have  no  friend  like 
Thee.  Oh  that  I could  be  as  faithful  to  Thee 
as  Thou  hast  been  to  me  ! 

‘ Quserens  me  sedisti  lassus, 

Redemisti  crucem  passus  ; 

Tantus  labor  non  sit  cassus  !’ 

‘ Thou  hast  sat  weary  seeking  me, 
Redeemed  me  dying  on  the  Tree  ; 

Let  not  such  labour  fruitless  be.’ 

III. 

Consider  the  kindness  and  condescension 
of  Jesus.  He  knew  that  the  woman  who  came 
to  the  well  was  a Samaritan,  and,  as  such, 
that  she  would  not  speak  to  Him,  a Jew. 
And  therefore  He,  breaking  through  the  cus- 
tom and  prejudice  of  His  nation,  spoke  to 
her  first.  He  also  knew  that  she  was  a sinner, 
living  even  then  in  a sinful  state  ; and  yet,  in 
His  desire  for  her  conversion,  He  did  not  dis- 
dain to  converse  with  her.  His  gentleness 
won  her  to  God.  She  confessed  her  sin,  and 
believed  in  Him,  and  induced  others  to  go  to 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


79 


Him  who  afterwards  believed  also.  See  the 
good  effects  of  gentleness  and  kindness  for 
poor  sinners.  Those  who  sincerely  desire  to 
convert  others  to  the  truth  or  to  virtue,  will 
imitate  our  dear  Lord,  and  will  remember 
that  every  unkind  or  bitter  word  is  but 
putting  another  obstacle  in  the  way  of  their 
coming  to  God. 

The  more  I think  of  Thee,  and  study  Thee, 
O Jesus  ! the  more  I feel  my  heart  impelled 
to  love  Thee.  I really  and  truly  desire  to 
love  Thee  with  my  whole  heart  and  soul ; do 
Thou  give  me  grace  that  so  my  desire  may 
be  crowned.  Pater,  Ave,  Gloria. 

in  the  c®hiri)  ®eek  of  ^ent* 

Gospel. — St,  John  viii.  i-ii. 

Picture  to  yourself  Jesus  in  the  Temple, 
and  the  poor  sinning  woman  placed  before 
Him  covered  with  shame  and  confusion. 
See  how  gently  He  deals  with  the  helpless 
sinner,  and  turns  the  accusation  upon  the 
hypocritical  accusers. 


i. 

There  is  much  in  the  scene  here  represented 
to  us  to  make  us  love  our  dear  Lord  very 
much.  It  comes  home  very  nearly  to  us  ; 
for  although  we  may  not  have  been  guilty  of 


8o 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


the  very  crime  of  which  the  poor  woman 
was  accused,  still,  when  we  stand  before  our 
Lord,  that  is  when  we  pray  to  Him,  or  when 
we  recall  His  sacred  presence,  we  must  feel 
that  we  are  before  Him  as  poor,  miserable 
sinners.  We  know  more  of  Him  than  the 
woman  did.  We  know  that  He  is  the  spot- 
less Lamb  of  God,  the  very  essence  of  purity 
and  holiness,  in  Whose  sight  the  very  heavens 
are  not  clean.  And  if  we  look  into  our 
souls,  shall  we  dare  to  say  that  we  are  fit  to 
be  before  Him  ? The  very  thought  of  our 
unworthiness  would  be  enough  to  keep  us 
from  Him,  were  we  not  reassured  by  the 
study  of  His  character,  and  by  such  instances 
of  merciful  regard  for  poor  sinners  as  the 
one  recorded  in  this  day’s  Gospel.  He  has 
not  a word  of  reproach  for  the  softened 
sinner.  He  even  stoops  down,  and  writes 
with  His  finger  on  the  pavement,  lest  by 
looking  at  her  He  might  embarrass  and  con- 
found her.  O sweet  compassion  of  Jesus, 
Who  came,  not  to  judge  and  condemn,  but 
to  heal  and  to  save  ! 


ii. 

Consider  now,  instead  of  reproaching  the 
accused  woman,  Jesus  looks  at  her  accusers, 
and  utters  those  words  that  must  have 
burned  into  their  very  consciences : ‘ He 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


81 


that  is  without  sin  among  you,  let  him  cast 
the  first  stone  at  her.’  What  a lesson  is 
here  for  ourselves  ! Let  us  imagine  Jesus 
saying  to  us,  ‘ Do  not  be  hard  upon  others, 
unless  you  can  lay  your  hand  upon  your 
heart,  and  declare  before  God,  the  Angels  and 
men,  that  you  are  without  sin.’  This  is 
practically  His  language  to  us,  and  this  is 
what  He  would  wish  to  teach  us  by  what 
He  said  to  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees.  Do 
we  attend  to  His  teaching  ? Are  we  not,  on 
the  contrary,  only  too  ready  to  accuse,  to 
blame,  and  condemn  others;  and  to- take 
pleasure  in  hearing  their  failings  exposed,  in 
listening  to  tales  and  scandals,  either  true 
or  false,  against  our  neighbour,  without  a 
moment’s  reflection  on  our  own  guiltiness? 
Many  persons  think  that  they  may  talk  as 
uncharitably  as  they  please  of  another,  pro- 
vided that  what  they  talk  about  is  true.  But 
that  is  the  sin  of  detraction,  and  it  is  totally 
inconsistent  with  the  charity  of  Christ.  Oh 
that  we,  who  profess  to  be  His  followers, 
were  more  like  Him ! How  many  sinners 
we  might  convert  to  Him  by  a little  kind 
consideration ! And  how  much  good  is  pre- 
vented by  untimely  harshness  and  cruelty  ! 
If  we  had  a true  sense  of  our  own  unworthi- 
ness, our  own  sins  and  weakness,  we  should 
not  blame  others  with  bitterness ; and  if  we 

6 


82 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


had  occasion  to  reprove  them,  it  would  be 
done  with  charity  and  gentleness,  and  souls 
would  be  gained  to  God. 

in. 

When  Jesus  had  uttered  those  words  to 
the  Scribes  and  Pharisees,  He  again  averted 
His  face,  and  wrote  upon  the  ground. 
They,  conscience-stricken  and  confounded, 
went  away  one  by  one,  until  ‘Jesus  alone 
remained,  and  the  woman  standing  in  the 
midst.’  It  was  then  that  He  lifted  Him- 
self up,  and  looking  at  her,  spoke  to  her, 
assuring  her  of  His  forgiveness  ; for  unless 
He  had  forgiven  her,  He  must  have  con- 
demned her.  He,  doubtless,  infused  con- 
trition into  her  heart,  for,  without  that,  He 
could  not  have  forgiven  her.  It  is  when  the 
soul  is  alone  with  God  that  good  thoughts 
arise  in  it,  the  enormity  of  sin  becomes  ap- 
parent, and  sorrow  finds  its  place  in  the 
heart.  What  is  it  to  be  alone  with  God  ? It 
is  ever  keeping  His  presence  before  the  eyes 
of  the  soul.  It  is  a sense  of  individual 
responsibility  to  God  as  if  we  were  the  only 
creature  in  existence.  It  is  the  habit  of 
examination  of  conscience,  of  prayer,  and  of 
meditation.  It  is  the  banishing  the  con- 
sideration of  all  inferior  things  and  motives, 
and  giving  ourselves  up  undistractedly  to 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


83 


God.  It  is  then  that  God  speaks  to  the 
heart,  and  sends  into  it  His  holy  inspirations. 
It  is  then  that  we  can  really  gather  spiritual 
fruit  from  our  communion  with  God,  that  we 
can  learn  to  repent  of  our  sins,  and  to  make 
good  resolutions  for  the  future,  and  so  deserve 
to  hear  from  Him  the  words,  £ Go,  and  now 
sin  no  more.’ 

How  sweet  and  amiable  Thou  art,  dear 
Jesus,  to  poor  sinners,  trying  to  allure  them 
to  virtue  by  Thy  gentle  compassion  and 
tenderness  ! What  regard  Thou  hast  for  the 
weakness  of  humanity  ! Let  me  learn  a 
lesson  of  humility  as  regards  myself,  and  of 
charitable  consideration  for  my  neighbour. 
Who  am  I that  I should  presume  to  cast  a 
stone  ? Do  Thou  hide  me  by  Thy  grace. 
Pater,  Ave,  Gloria. 


Jfourth  cSutthaj)  of  ^Dent. 

Gospel. — St.  John  v i.  1-15. 

Picture  to  yourself  our  blessed  Lord  flying 
from  the  popularity  which  He  had  acquired, 
and  hastening  all  alone  to  the  mountain. 


1. 

Our  dear  Lord  had  performed  the  wonder- 
ful miracle  of  feeding  five  thousand  men, 

6 — 2 


84 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


besides  women  and  children,  as  St.  Matthew 
tells  us,  with  five  loaves  and  two  fishes.  And, 
even  after  they  were  satisfied,  there  remained 
fragments  sufficient  to  fill  twelve  baskets. 
The  stupendous  nature  of  this  miracle  so 
worked  upon  the  minds  of  the  people,  that 
acknowledging  His  Divine  power,  they  ex- 
claimed : ‘ This  is  of  a truth  the  prophet  that 
is  to  come  into  the  world.’  And  they  would 
have  proclaimed  Him  King.  They  wished 
to  take  Him  by  force  and  make  Him  their 
Sovereign.  Jesus  Christ  performs  a greater 
wonder  in  our  regard,  when  He  feeds,  not  five 
thousand,  but  all  the  Faithful  who  will,  with 
His  most  sacred  Body  and  Blood  in  the 
Holy  Sacrament  of  the  Altar.  And  that  not 
once,  but  as  often  as  we  choose  to  approach 
Him  ; nor  in  the  desert  (St.  Matt,  xiv.),  but 
amid  the  busy  haunts  of  men,  in  a half-hour 
that  we  can  snatch  away  from  our  ordinary 
pursuits  of  business  or  pleasure,  if  we  will. 
And  yet  how  little  do  we  think  of  this 
wondrous  food  which  He  keeps  ready  for  us  ! 
How  little  of  the  immensity  of  the  love  which 
urges  Him  to  dwell  under  the  Eucharistic 
form  in  our  churches,  that  He  may  be 
always  there  for  those  who  come,  and  that 
He  may  be  carried  thence  to  feed  and  cheer 
the  sick  and  dying,  and  give  them  this 
pledge  of  everlasting  glory ! Surely  He 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


85 

deserves  to  be  our  King ; to  be  proclaimed 
by  us  the  Lord  and  Sovereign  of  our  souls  ; 
not  with  our  mind  and  our  lips  alone,  but 
with  all  the  true  allegiance  of  our  hearts,  and 
all  the  deep  fidelity  of  our  affection.  He  is 
our  King  and  Lord  in  reality,  we  cannot 
prevent  that;  but  let  us  confess  it,  and  let 
us  act  as  if  we  believed  that  He  has  a right 
to  our  loyalty. 


ii. 

When  Jesus  knew  that  they  would  come 
and  make  Him  King,  He  fled  away  from 
them.  He  sought  no  worldly  honour  and 
distinction.  He  Who  was  and  is  for  ever 
the  King  of  heaven  and  earth,  sought  in 
this  world  no  other  crown  than  one  of 
thorns,  no  other  sceptre  than  a reed,  no 
royal  robe  but  the  purple  cloak  cast  upon 
Him  in  derision,  no  kingly  title  but  that 
which  should  be  written  above  His  head  on 
Calvary.  He  shunned  distinction  as  men 
shrink  from  insult  or  misfortune,  and  fled 
from  it  as  a man  will  fly  from  his  enemies. 
Let  us  contrast  the  conduct  of  Jesus  with 
our  own,  ever  remembering  that  all  that 
He  did  was  for  our  instruction.  Do  we 
shun  honours  and  distinctions,  in  imitation 
of  our  Divine  Master  ? Do  we  despise  a 
fleeting  popularity?  Are  we  not,  on  the 


86 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


contrary,  Yain  of  any  elevation  above  our 
fellow-men  ? This  vanity  will  lead  us  into 
many  serious  disorders  if  we  are  not  very 
careful  to  check  it.  If  we  were  to  give  it 
full  liberty,  it  would  lead  us  to  be  proud, 
and  haughty,  and  contemptuous  towards 
others.  It  would  lead  us  to  ambition  fatal 
to  charity,  and  even  to  justice.  How  many 
men  have  risen  in  worldly  honour  at  the 
expense  of  others’  happiness  ! It  may,  per- 
haps be  our  case  not  to  be  in  such  a posi- 
tion as  to  give  us  hopes  of  rising  high  in  the 
world’s  esteem ; still,  are  there  not  many 
trifles  which  cause  us  to  be  vain  ? Let  each 
one  look  into  his  own  heart,  and  examine 
his  own  conduct.  This  is  very  necessary, 
for  our  vanity  is  so  great,  that  we  are  always 
apt  to  consider  and  criticise  what  our  neigh- 
bour does,  and  to  think  our  own  conduct 
perfection ; or  if  not  perfection,  at  least  some- 
thing that  deserves  considerable  appreciation. 
How  many  vexations  should  we  save  our- 
selves if  we  could  learn  not  to  be  vain, 
besides  imitating  and  pleasing  the  Sacred 
Heart  of  Jesus  ! 

in. 

There  is  something  singularly  touching  in 
the  sight  of  our  dear  Lord  fleeing  from  the 
face  of  men,  plunging  into  the  mountain 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


87 


recesses,  and  hiding  Himself  alone ; and 
then  casting  Himself  upon  His  sacred  knees, 
and  praying  to  His  Eternal  Father.  What 
thoughts  passed  through  His  Sacred  Heart ! 
Thoughts  of  burning  love,  and  of  longing 
desire  for  the  accomplishment  of  the  Divine 
Will,  as  He  knelt  there  in  solitude.  We  can 
imagine  the’  wild  animals  peering  at  Him 
round  the  rocks,  and  among  the  leaves  ; and 
perhaps  the  birds  of  the  air,  fearless  of  Him, 
singing  their  joyous  hymns  around  Him. 
There  He  remained  till  the  fourth  watch  of 
the  night,  when  His  love  urged  Him  to  seek 
His  disciples,  and  He  went  to  them  walking 
on  the  sea.  Solitude  is  very  advantageous  to 
the  soul  that  would  unite  itself  to  God  by 
prayer  ; and  all  the  true  servants  of  God,  the 
Saints  whose  lives  are  set  before  us  as  ex- 
amples, have  loved  solitude.  Some  have  fled, 
like  our  Lord,  to  the  desert ; some  have 
sought  the  cell  of  the  monastery ; while 
others,  whose  apportioned  lot  has  been  to 
mix  with  the  busy  world,  have  found  their 
moments  for  solitary  prayer  and  contempla- 
tion in  the  retirement  of  their  chamber,  or  in 
visits  to  the  Blessed  Sacrament.  Let  us  seek 
for  such  quiet  moments  now  and  then,  when 
we  may  speak  to  God,  and  think  of  God, 
and  when  He  will  speak  to  us. 

O my  J esus ! Thou  shalt  be  my  king,  in- 


88 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


deed.  Thy  will  shall  be  my  law.  I will  prize 
Thy  will  above  all  things.  Rather  let  me 
die  than  forget  or  forfeit  my  allegiance  to 
Thee.  I will,  with  Thy  help,  check  and  keep 
down  my  vanity,  and  I will  seek  Thee  from 
time  to  time  in  silence  and  in  solitude,  so 
that  nothing  may  distract  my  thoughts  from 
Thee.  Jesus,  aid  me  by  Thy  grace.  Pater, 
Ave,  Gloria. 


JEmvbag  in  thz  Jfourth  SEeek  ot  gDent. 

Gospel. — St.  John , ii.  13-25. 

Place  yourself  in  spirit  at  the  feet  of  Jesus 
Christ ; look  up  to  Him  as  your  teacher  in 
the  spiritual  life,  and  endeavour  to  take  all 
advantage  of  the  lessons  He  gives  you. 


1. 

We  have  already  considered  a similar  scene 
to  that  narrated  in  the  Gospel  for  this  day, 
when  we  meditated  upon  the  passage  taken 
from  the  twenty-first  chapter  of  St.  Matthew; 
and  we  then  compared  the  Temple  of  Jeru- 
salem to  the  Christian  soul,  in  which  God 
loves  to  dwell  by  His  grace.  Let  us  now 
consider  the  supereminent  sanctity  of  a 
Christian  church,  and  how  far  its  holiness  is 
superior  to  that  of  the  Jewish  Temple.  To 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


89 


hearts  that  love  Jesus  Christ  that  superiority 
is  at  once  apparent,  when  they  remember  the 
real  and  adorable  Presence  in  the  Blessed 
Sacrament.  Jesus  Christ  makes  the  church 
His  home;  it  is  His  own  house,  His  dwelling- 
place,  that  we  visit  when  we  visit  a Catholic 
church.  He  receives  us  under  His  own  roof, 
where  He  has  prepared  for  us  a banquet  such 
as  Angels  have  never  partaken  of,  in  which 
our  souls  are  fed  with  His  most  sacred  Body 
and  Blood.  Take  away  the  Blessed  Sacra- 
ment from  a Catholic  church  ; the  house  re- 
mains, it  is  true,  but  the  Master  is  gone,  and 
a sense  of  desolation  seems  to  reign  through- 
out ; a desolation  which  is  almost  felt,  even 
though  we  may  not  see  that  the  tabernacle  is 
open,  and  the  light  extinguished.  There  is 
no  longer  any  centre  around  which  the  minor 
sanctities  of  the  church  may  group  them- 
selves; no  longer  that  loadstone  which  was 
wont  to  draw  to  itself  the  homage  and  affec- 
tion of  faithful  souls.  But  the  Blessed 
Sacrament  there,  the  poorest  hovel  becomes 
a heaven  upon  earth.  Oh  ! let  us  love  the 
church,  the  material  church,  if  it  be  only  for 
this. 

11. 

But,  besides  this,  it  is  in  the  church  that 
so  many  Sacraments  are  conferred.  There 
we  are  made  children  of  God,  Christians  and 


90 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


heirs  of  heaven  by  Holy  Baptism  ; there  is 
actual  sin  washed  away  in  the  sacrament  of 
Penance,  and  Matrimony  is  sanctified.  In 
the  church  are  the  images  of  the  blessed 
Mother  of  God,  and  of  the  Saints,  the  friends 
of  Jesus.  There  we  hear  the  words  of  eternal 
life,  and  assist  at  the  tremendous  mysteries. 
Moreover,  the  church  is  the  palace  of  Christ’s 
poor,  from  which  no  one  can  exclude  them, 
and  where  they  can  kneel  side  by  side  with 
the  noble  and  the  rich  at  the  altar,  and  where 
one  considers  one’s  self  honoured  by  the 
proximity  of  the  lowly  and  the  humble.  If 
the  zeal  of  our  dear  Lord  was  so  much  aroused 
by  seeing  the  profanation  of  the  Temple  of 
Jerusalem,  what  must  be  His  anger  at  the 
desecration  of  a Catholic  church  ! Let  us 
learn,  then,  to  reverence  and  to  love  our 
church,  and  to  banish  from  us  every  act  and 
thought  unworthy  of  His  presence,  and  of 
the  holiness  of  the  place. 

hi. 

Consider  the  concluding  words  of  this 
day’s  Gospel : ‘ He  knew  what  was  in  man.’ 
Jesus,  by  His  own  knowledge,  which  was 
Divine,  knew,  and  knows  the  hearts  of  all 
men.  Whatever  may  be  our  outward  appear- 
ance, our  external  acts,  our  words,  He  knows 
exactly  what  we  are  worth  before  God.  We 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


91 


can  cloak  and  conceal  nothing  from  Him, 
however  much  we  may  impose  upon  men ; 
and  it  is  a tremendous  thought  that  the  eyes 
of  an  all-seeing  Judge  are  ever  fixed  upon  us, 
taking  measure  of  us  in  every  respect.  And 
yet  we  are  given  to  think  much  more  of  our 
neighbours’  conduct  than  of  our  own.  We 
can  only  judge  of  others  by  appearances, 
than  which  nothing  is  more  deceptive ; and 
while  we  are  criticising,  and  perhaps  con- 
demning, our  fellow -creature  in  our  own 
mind,  we  forget  that  there  is  One  watching 
us  Who  does  not  judge  by  appearances,  but 
Who  knows  us  most  intimately,  and  Who 
cannot  by  any  means  whatever  be  deceived  in 
us.  I will  examine  myself  upon  this  head, 
and  see  what  my  conduct  is  with  regard  to 
rash  judgment  of  others,  and  also  what  it  is 
in  the  eyes  of  God. 

O my  God ! I will  reverence  and  love  the 
church,  ‘the  place  where  Thy  glory  dwelleth.’ 
And  do  Thou  give  me  grace  to  carry  out 
the  resolution,  which  I now  make  in  Thy 
presence,  of  so  carefully  guarding  my  con- 
duct that  Thou  mayest  see  nothing  in  it 
displeasing  to  Thee,  and  of  resisting  the 
temptation  to  form  unjust  and  rash  judg- 
ments with  regard  to  my  neighbour.  Pater, 
Ave,  Gloria. 


92 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


in  th c fourth  SBeek  of  gD ent. 

Gospel. — St.  John  vii.  14-31. 

Let  us  represent  to  ourselves  Jesus  teach- 
ing in  the  Temple  ; and  let  us  see  the  dignity 
and  holiness  of  His  manner,  and  try  if  we 
can  gather  any  lesson  for  ourselves. 


1. 

Admire  the  magnanimity  of  Jesus.  He 
knew  that  the  Jews  sought  to  kill  Him,  as 
we  learn  from  the  first  verse  of  the  chapter 
from  which  this  day’s  Gospel  is  taken,  and 
as  we  may  gather  from  other  passages  in  the 
same.  Yet,  though  He  had  remained  for  a 
time,  on  this  account,  in  Galilee  to  teach  us 
a lesson  of  prudence,  about  the  middle  of 
the  feast  He  showed  Himself  publicly  in  the 
Temple,  and  began  to  teach.  He  had  set  out 
on  His  mission  of  teaching,  and  no  sense  of 
fear  interposed  to  prevent  Him  from  accom- 
plishing His  Father’s  will.  The  service  of 
God  will  always  require  from  us  a certain 
degree  of  fortitude.  The  early  Church  was 
watered  with  the  blood  of  martyrs.  Three 
hundred  years  ago  our  fathers  in  the  Faith 
in  this  country  had  to  be  ready  to  undergo 
death  rather  than  sacrifice  their  Faith ; and 
much  more  recently  they  were  subjected  to 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


93 


grievous  persecutions  and  penalties  for  the 
sake  of  their  religion.  Death  is  not  now 
offered  to  us  as  the  price  of  our  fidelity,  but, 
living  as  we  do  in  the  midst  of  bitter  enemies 
to  our  Faith,  we  have  numberless  annoyances 
to  put  up  with,  insults  to  endure,  misrepre- 
sentations to  encounter  ; and,  what  is  worse 
than  all,  we  have  to  hear  so  many  blas- 
phemies against  all  that  we  hold  most  holy. 
How  do  we  bear  ourselves  in  the  midst  of 
all  this?  How  do  I endure  insult,  ridicule, 
and  injury  on  account  of  my  religion  ? Do 
I imitate  the  steady,  quiet  fortitude  of  Jesus? 
Or  do  I not  lose  my  temper  sometimes,  and 
feel  uncharitably  towards  my  tormentors? 
Do  I ever  allow  the  fear  of  what  others  may 
say  to  hinder  me  from  letting  them  know 
that  I am  a Catholic  when  God’s  honour 
calls  for  a profession  of  my  faith  ? Do  I 
ever  shrink  from  any  practice  enjoined  by 
the  Church  because  of  what  may  be  said  or 
thought  of  me  ? If  I do,  I do  not  come  up 
to  the  standard  of  my  model,  Jesus  Christ. 

ii. 

There  were  two  causes  which,  in  this  par- 
ticular instance,  gave  our  Lord  such  admir- 
able magnanimity:  (i)  He  was  ready  to  die 
at  any  moment,  even  though  His  death 
should  be  violent  and  painful ; (2)  He  knew 


94 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


that  the  time  appointed  by  His  Father  had 
not  yet  come.  Do  I feel  that,  even  if  I were 
assured  that  it  was  God’s  will  that  I should 
die  now,  I could  lie  down  and  expire  without 
fear,  and  without  regret  for  anything  that  I 
should  leave  behind  me  ? Am  I ready  to 
appear  before  my  Judge?  Let  me  reflect 
upon  this,  and  amend  whatever  may  want 
correction.  We  should  all  be  in  such  a dis- 
position that  we  would  do  our  duty,  even 
with  danger  of  losing  our  lives,  and  with  per- 
fect confidence  that  God,  if  He  sees  fit  and 
best  for  us,  will  rescue  us  from  the  danger. 

in. 

It  is  an  instinct  with  us  to  admire  mag- 
nanimity and  fortitude  when  we  see  them 
exhibited  in  the  conduct  of  others.  Of  all 
the  qualities  of  man,  perhaps  this  is  the  one 
which  calls  forth  the  greatest  expression  of 
admiration.  No  one  looks  with  favour  upon 
cowardice  and  weakness  of  spirit.  When  a 
man  yields  to  pusillanimity,  he  becomes  an 
object  of  contempt,  and  to  none  more  so  than 
to  those  who  have  extorted  it  from  him. 
Whereas,  on  the  other  hand,  courage  and 
high-mindedness  receive  their  reward  of 
praise  even  from  the  bitterest  enemies.  We 
shall  gain  nothing  with  either  God  or  man  by 
yielding  to  a cowardly  fear.  If  even  physical 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


95 


courage  receives  its  reward  of  applause,  how 
much  more  deserving  of  admiration  is  the 
moral  courage  which  enables  us  to  overcome, 
and  make  nothing  of  human  respect?  But 
besides  this,  we  require  moral  courage  to 
enable  us  to  carry  out  our  duty  in  spite  of 
ourselves . We  must  despise  the  opinions  and 
prejudices  of  the  world,  but  we  must  attack 
our  own  evil  inclinations  with  a vigorous  and 
unsparing  hand.  This  demands  a high  de- 
gree of  moral  courage.  We  become  cowards 
in  the  face  of  our  natural  sloth  in  regard  of 
spiritual  things,  or  when  our  duty  demands  a 
sacrifice  of  a little  ease  or  pleasure,  when  we 
have  to  curb  the  strength  of  our  passions,  or 
to  give  up  anything  or  anyone  who  is  in  the 
way  of  our  salvation.  How  dignified  is  that 
soul  which  goes  calmly  on  in  the  path  of 
strict  duty,  no  matter  what  obstacles  lie  in 
the  way  ! It  becomes  very  like  its  divine 
Model,  Jesus  Christ. 

O my  Lord  and  Saviour  ! give  me  courage 
in  the  performance  of  my  duty.  I will  never 
be  ashamed  of  Thee,  nor  of  Thy  religion.  I 
will  never  fear  anything  that  the  world  can 
bring  against  me.  I would  rather  die  ten 
thousand  times  than  commit  one  mortal  sin. 
Give  me  grace  to  persevere  in  my  good  reso- 
lutions. Pater,  Ave,  Gloria. 


96 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


©cimesiag  in  the  Jfourth  SEeek  ef  |£ent. 

Gospel. — St.  John  ix.  1-38. 

Imagine  that  you  are  among  the  witnesses 
of  the  wonderful  miracle  related  in  this  day’s 
Gospel ; that  you  see  our  dear  Lord,  hear 
His  words,  and  behold  His  actions. 


1. 

It  was  just  after  Jesus  had  passed  out  of 
the  Temple,  as  narrated  in  the  last  verse  of 
the  preceding  chapter,  that  He  saw  the  man 
who  had  been  blind  from  his  birth.  This 
man  was  not  only  blind,  but,  no  doubt  in 
consequence  of  his  blindness  was  also  a 
beggar.  How  little  could  he  have  anticipated 
that  the  day  would  come  when  the  Son  of 
God,  become  man,  should  give  him  the 
faculty  of  seeing,  which  he  had  never  pos- 
sessed, and  thus  confer  upon  him  the  means 
of  raising  himself  from  his  state  of  beggary. 
By  original  sin,  vre  are  all  born  blind  ; the 
whole  human  race,  by  Adam’s  fall,  were 
reduced  to  a state  far  worse  than  corporal 
blindness  and  beggary ; and  the  only  be- 
gotten Son  of  God,  seeing  our  condition, 
took  pity  on  us.  He  became  like  one  of  us, 
thus  passing  by  our  way,  in  order  that  He 
might  rescue  us.  Which  of  us  could,  by 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


the  greatest  effort  of  imagination,  have  de- 
vised the  way  by  which  we  were  to  be  cured 
and  saved  ? Not  all  the  wisdom  of  philoso- 
phers and  sages,  not  even  the  insight  into 
God’s  ways  possessed  by  Saints,  could  have 
dared  to  anticipate  so  wondrous  a means  as 
the  Incarnation.  Not  the  luminous  sagacity 
of  the  Angels,  who  are  enlightened  by  the 
very  light  of  God’s  throne,  could  have  con- 
trived such  a plan  of  salvation  for  man  as 
that  the  Son  of  God  should  become  man, 
and  suffer  and  die  to  compass  it.  God  has 
greater  depths  of  love  than  man  or  angel 
could  have  thought  of.  Let  us  wonder  at 
the  abyss  of  His  love,  and  excite  our  souls  to 
make  Him  the  return  which  He  desires, 
namely,  the  return  of  our  love. 


ii. 

Notwithstanding  the  clearness  of  the  evi- 
dence, and  the  simplicity  of  the  proofs  of  this 
striking  miracle,  the  Jews  would  not  believe 
either  it,  or  the  truth  of  Jesus  Christ.  On 
the  contrary,  with  insulting  words  they  told 
the  man  that  he  might  be  the  disciple  of 
Jesus,  but  that  they  were  the  disciples  of 
Moses.  Were  they  wilfully  blind  ? Or  was 
their  blindness  judicial,  that  is,  a punishment 
for  their  sins  ? Whichever  it  was  in  their 
case,  let  us  be  careful  that  we  never  shut  our 

7 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


eyes  to  the  light  of  God’s  grace,  and  thus 
become  wilfully  blind.  Have  we  ever  shunned 
the  knowledge  of  God’s  will  in  our  regard? 
Have  we  ever  felt  that  we  would  rather  not 
know  what  God  wished  us  to  do  or  to  be, 
lest  His  will  should  be  contrary  to  our  in- 
clinations ? Have  we  ever  put  away  from  us 
the  consideration  of  God’s  will  as  a trouble- 
some thought,  because  the  following  of  it 
would  involve  some  sacrifice,  or  even  some 
slight  inconvenience  ? Let  us  examine  into 
this ; and  let  us  be  very  cautious  lest  resist- 
ance to  God’s  will  on  our  part  should  draw 
down  upon  us  the  punishment  of  spiritual 
blindness,  which,  unless  in  most  exceptional 
cases,  will  lead  to  final  impenitence. 

in. 

Consider  those  words  of  Jesus  : ‘ I must 
work  the  works  of  Him  that  sent  Me,  whilst 
it  is  day  ; the  night  cometh  when  no  man  can 
work.’  The  time  of  our  lives  is  the  day,  in 
which  we  must  work,  and  merit  the  glory 
which  endures  for  ever.  Our  death  is  the 
night,  when  we  can  no  longer  do  anything 
towards  our  salvation.  Jesus  did  the  works 
of  Him  that  sent  Him,  and  so,  all  that  we  do 
during  our  lives  should  be  in  accordance  with 
the  will  of  God.  Our  works  should  be  His 
works.  Should  we  dare  to  call  everything 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


99 


that  we  do  God’s  work  ? Can  we  conscien- 
tiously say  that,  even  in  a general  way,  we 
intend  to  do  nothing  but  what  God  wishes  us 
to  do,  and  in  the  manner  in  which  He  wishes 
us  to  do  it?  Could  we  bear  that  Jesus 
should  visibly  pass  by,  and  see  us,  and  be 
seen  by  us,  in  all  our  actions  ? Yet  He  does 
see  us  always,  and  under  every  possible  cir- 
cumstance. If  there  be  anything  to  correct, 
let  us  set  about  it  at  once  ; for  the  night 
cometh.  Our  death  will  soon  be  upon  us. 
Dear  Lord  Jesus  ! so  merciful  and  so  good  ! 
I will  never  close  my  eyes  to  Thy  grace.  I 
will  always  try  to  find  out  Thy  will  by  a 
rigorous  examination  of  myself,  and  by  con- 
sulting and  following  the  advice  of  my 
director.  I grieve  for  having  so  often  acted 
against  Thy  will ; and  I will  begin  now,  with 
Thy  grace,  to  do  Thy  will,  that  when  the 
night  comes  for  me  I may  be  found  ready. 
Do  Thou  aid  me  by  Thy  grace.  Pater,  Ave, 
Gloria. 


^hurstmg  in  the  Jfourth  SEeek  of  ICent 

Gospel. — St.  Luke  vii.  n-16. 

Imagine  yourself  to  be  among  the  crowd 
near  the  gate  of  the  city  of  Naim,  and  that 
you  see  the  meeting  between  Jesus  and  the 

7—2 


100 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


sorrowing  widow,  and  all  that  takes  place  on 
this  wonderful  occasion. 


i. 

This  was  a meeting  of  life  and  death.  Jesus, 
the  true  Life,  accompanied  by  His  disciples 
and  a great  multitude,  encounters  the  dead 
body  of  a young  man,  followed  by  his  weeping 
mother,  who  was  a widow,  and  many  people  of 
the  city,  who  went  with  her  out  of  sympathy 
and  consideration.  The  moment  that  Jesus 
sees  her  He  shows  His  compassion  for  her. 
His  Heart  was  so  full  of  love  for  man  that 
the  first  sight  of  distress  called  forth  a mani- 
festation of  sympathy  from  Him.  Hear  His 
kind  and  gentle  voice  as  He  says  to  her, 

‘ Weep  not.’  And  see  Him  touch  the  bier, 
and  command  the  dead  body  to  rise  again  to 
life.  See  how  the  eyes  open,  and  look  around. 
See  how  the  blood  once  more  circulates,  and 
colours  the  cheeks,  and  how  he  that  was  dead 
sits  up  and  begins  to  speak.  But  Jesus  has 
not  yet  done  all  for  that  poor  widow,  He 
gives  her  once  more  the  son  whom  she  had 
lost.  Oh  ! what  joy  for  that  widowed  mother’s 
heart ! Enter  into  the  feelings  that  would  be 
excited  in  you,  if  you  actually  beheld  this 
scene.  How  your  heart  would  warm  with  love 
towards  Jesus,  so  that  if  you  had  not  been 
with  Him  before,  you  would  join  Him  now. 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


IOI 


II. 

The  dead  man  was  a young  man,  like  any 
other  young  man.  He  had  been  full  of  life, 
of  energy,  of  spirit.  He  had  had  his  com- 
panions and  his  friends,  his  admirers,  and 
perhaps  his  enemies.  Doubtless,  like  other 
young  persons,  he  had  looked  forward  to 
many  years  of  life,  and  to  much  enjoyment. 
On  the  other  hand,  his  mother  had  loved 
him  dearly.  He  was  her  only  son ; and  had 
considered  him  as  her  hope  and  stay,  the 
support  and  the  joy  of  her  age.  Probably 
neither  of  them  had  anticipated  an  early 
death  for  him.  Yet  death  came  in  the  midst 
of  his  youth,  and  carried  him  away.  What- 
ever had  been  their  thoughts,  neither  of  them 
could  ever  have  imagined  that  when  death 
had  once  come,  the  Lord  of  life  and  death 
would  restore  him  to  life  and  to  his  mother. 

How  vain  are  all  the  promises  I have 
made  to  myself  of  the  enjoyment  of  life  ! I 
may  be  young  and  thoughtless,  with  regard 
to  serious  matters,  looking  forward  to  many 
years  in  the  world,  yet  God  alone  knows  if 
I shall  be  alive  this  time  next  year,  this  day 
next  week,  this  hour  to-morrow.  Certain  it 
is  that  when  my  death  does  come,  the  years 
that  have  passed  will  appear  very,  very  short. 
My  death  must  come  soon  ; for  what  are  a 


102 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


few  years  of  time  compared  to  the  endless 
ages  of  eternity ; and  it  will  be  by  the 
standard  of  eternity  that  I shall  measure 
and  judge  of  things  when  I come  to  die. 
Another  thing  certain  is  — that  I cannot 
expect  a stupendous  miracle  to  be  wrought 
that  shall  raise  me  to  life  again ; and  even 
so,  as  in  the  case  of  the  young  man  in  the 
Gospel,  I could  only  look  for  a few  years  of 
renewed  life.  Death  would  come  at  last  and 
finally.  Do  I think  enough  of  death,  of  the 
certainty  and  the  speed  of  its  coming,  and  of 
the  utter  uncertainty  of  the  time,  place,  or 
manner  of  my  death  ? 

in. 

A soul  that  has  lost  the  grace  of  God,  that 
is,  a soul  in  mortal  sin,  may  be  compared  to 
a dead  body  that  is  being  carried  out  to  be 
buried.  The  Church  weeps  and  laments. 
Jesus  meets  it,  and  approaches  it  by  in- 
spiring it  with  remorse.  He  touches  the  bier 
by  the  numberless  means  which,  through  the 
ministry  of  His  Church,  He  places  before  it 
for  its  resurrection  from  the  death  of  sin. 
He  says  to  it,  ‘Arise.’  And  yet,  notwith- 
standing the  dear  compassion  of  Jesus,  how 
many  souls  deliberately  choose  to  remain 
dead,  that  is,  remain  wilfully  in  sin,  and 
reject  the  means  of  the  Sacraments,  etc., 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS  103 

which  Jesus  and  His  Church  offer.  What 
must  be  the  consequence?  They  will  be 
carried  to  the  grave,  that  is,  they  will  be 
buried  in  hell.  And  all  through  their  own 
fault ; for  there  is  nothing  wanting  on  the 
part  of  our  Lord.  He  has  done  all  that  He 
can.  Oh  ! what  a sad  frustration  of  the 
loving  efforts  of  Jesus  and  His  Church ! 
What  irreparable,  never-ending  loss  ! 

I love  Thy  dear  compassionate  Heart,  O 
my  Jesus  ! And  I will  do  all  in  my  power 
to  correspond  with  Thine  infinite  goodness, 
which,  by  Thy  Church,  gives  me  such  effi- 
cacious means  of  rising  from  the  death  of 
sin.  Jesus,  aid  me  by  Thy  grace.  Pater, 
Ave,  Gloria. 


Jfnhaj)  in  tHe  Jfanrth  Wink  of  gCent. 

Gospel. — St.  John  xi.  1-45. 

Realize  to  yourself  the  wonderful  scene  of 
Jesus  going  with  tears  and  groans,  accom- 
panied by  the  weeping  sisters,  by  His  dis- 
ciples, and  a crowd  of  people,  to  the  grave 
in  which  the  dead  body  of  Lazarus  was  laid ; 
and  hear  Him  pronounce,  with  a loud  voice, 
the  words,  ‘Lazarus,  come  forth.’  Then  see 
the  dead  man  arise,  and  come  forth,  still 
bound  in  the  grave-clothes. 


104 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


I. 

Jesus  weeping,  the  tears  coursing  down  His 
sacred  cheeks,  is  a moving  spectacle.  Even 
the  Jews,  who  did  not  believe  in  Him,  said, 
‘ Behold  how  He  loved  him.’  And  can  we, 
who  know  with  a certain  faith  Who  and  what 
He  was,  look  on  unmoved?  Jesus  wept  with 
grief,  with  affection,  with  sympathy,  and  with 
earnestness.  Contemplate  Him  in  His  afflic- 
tion, and  try  to  enter  into  the  sentiments 
which  filled  His  dear  Sacred  Heart.  Yester- 
day we  saw  how  He  restored  an  only  son  to 
his  mother;  to-day  we  behold  Him  giving  joy 
to  the  affectionate  hearts  of  the  two  sisters,  by 
the  restoration  of  their  brother.  Ever  kind, 
ever  compassionate  Jesus!  If  Jesus  wept  out 
of  love  for  His  friend,  and  out  of  sympathy 
with  the  afflicted  sisters ; if  He  grieved  over 
mere  temporal  distress  and  loss,  how  much 
more  must  His  pure  Heart  have  sorrowed 
over  sin,  the  occasion  of  eternal  loss  and 
woe  ! Have  I ever  given  Jesus  occasion  to 
grieve  over  me?  Have  I ever  been  dead  and 
buried  in  sin  by  losing  the  grace  of  God,  and 
giving  myself  up  to  utter  forgetfulness  of 
Him  ? Let  me  reflect  upon  my  conduct, 
and  grieve  from  my  heart  for  all  the  pain 
which  Jesus  has  suffered  on  my  account.  It 
will  be  a wholesome  grief  if  I can  mingle  my 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


105 

tears  with  those  of  Jesus,  for  it  will  make  me 
love  Him  more. 


11. 

Hear  how  our  dear  Lord  gives  thanks  to 
His  Eternal  Father  for  having  heard  Him: 
‘ Father,  I give  Thee  thanks  that  Thou  hast 
heard  Me/  This  is  a great  lesson  for  us  who 
think  so  little  of  the  prayer  of  thanksgiving. 
We  are  ready  enough  to  ask  for  favours,  and 
are  even  tempted  to  murmur  if  our  requests 
are  not  at  once  heard  or  answered.  When  a 
favour  is  granted,  we  are  very  apt  to  take  it 
as  if  it  were  our  due,  and  to  forget  the  giver. 
When  our  prayers  are  heard,  we  rejoice  in- 
deed, but  too  often  neglect  to  thank  the  good 
God  Who  has  heard  them.  And  how  many 
good  things,  both  spiritual  and  temporal,  do 
we  not  receive  without  having  had  even  the 
slight  trouble  of  asking  for  them  ! God,  out 
of  the  abounding  fountain  of  His  love,  has 
deluged  us  with  favours.  He  gave  us  life, 
brought  us  into  His  Church  by  baptism,  pre- 
served us  through  many  dangers  to  soul  and 
body.  Health,  ease,  happiness,  and  a thousand 
other  blessings  have  been  conferred  upon  us 
by  Him.  All  that  we  have  of  good  is  from 
His  hand.  We  know  this  ; and  yet  if  we  ask 
ourselves  how  often  we  think  of  returning 
Him  thanks,  we  shall  find  very  much  reason 


106  LENTEN  THOUGHTS 

to  be  ashamed  of  our  thoughtlessness  and  in- 
gratitude. Let  us  make  it  a rule  to  thank 
God  daily,  not  only  for  ourselves,  but  for 
His  goodness  to  all  the  world.  It  is  a good 
practice  to  have  the  custom  of  very  frequently 
saying  from  our  hearts,  4 Thank  God  !* 


hi. 

Consider  how  Jesus  goes  on  to  say  that 
He  gave  thanks  thus  publicly  on  account  of 
the  people  standing  about,  that  they  might 
believe  that  the  Father  had  sent  Him.  Here 
we  see  how  Jesus  seems  to  forget  Himself, 
and  the  favour  which  His  Father  was  about 
to  confer  upon  Him,  in  His  all-absorbing 
desire  for  His  Father’s  glory,  and  for  the 
salvation  of  mankind.  It  was  no  new  thing 
for  Jesus  to  be  heard  by  His  Father:  ‘Thou 
hearest  Me  always.’  Neither  was  it  a new 
thing  for  Him  to  make  the  prayer  of  thanks- 
giving. But  now  that  the  miracle  of  raising 
one  from  the  grave  was  about  to  be  performed, 
He  knew  that  many  would  believe  that  the 
Father  had  sent  Him,  and  thus  would  give 
honour  and  glory  to  the  Father,  and  save 
their  souls,  and  He  lifts  up  His  sacred  eyes 
to  heaven,  and  thanks  Him. 

Is  our  first  and  dominant  thought  one  of 
desire  for  the  honour  of  God,  and  our  own 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


107 


and  our  neighbours*  salvation?  Do  we  always 
offer  up  our  actions  to  God  ? Do  we  think 
sufficiently  that  we  came  into  this  world  for 
no  other  purpose  than  to  love  and  serve  God 
here,  that  we  may  reign  with  Him  for  ever 
hereafter  ? 

O God  of  all  goodness ! how  often  have  my 
sins  afflicted  the  Sacred  Heart  of  Jesus ! How 
great  has  been  my  ingratitude!  By  Thy  grace 
it  shall  be  so  no  more.  I thank  Thee  from 
my  heart  for  all  that  Thou  hast  done  for  me. 
I thank  Thee  for  the  trials  and  crosses  Thou 
hast  sent  me,  because  Thou  knowest  that  they 
are  good  for  me.  I thank  Thee  for  all  the 
world.  May  all  my  thoughts,  words,  and 
actions  tend  to  Thy  glory,  and  to  the  salva- 
tion of  myself  and  others.  Do  Thou  aid  me 
by  Thy  grace.  Pater,  Ave,  Gloria. 


cSahttiag  in  the  Jfouvth  ffitcek  of  | Cent* 

Gospel. — St.  John  viii.  12-20. 

It  was  after  absolving  the  woman  taken  in 
adultery  that  Jesus  continued  His  teaching 
in  the  Temple.  Consider  Him  sitting  there 
surrounded  by  crowds  of  Jews,  and  atten- 
tively hear  the  words  of  heavenly  wisdom 
that  proceed  from  His  Sacred  Lips. 


io8 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


I. 

‘ I am  the  light  of  the  world.’  These  are 
the  words  of  Jesus  Christ  to  the  Jews,  who 
hated  Him,  and  who  pretended  to  see  in 
His  doctrine  nothing  but  falsehood  and  dark- 
ness. They  were  not  addressed  to  the  Jews 
alone,  but  to  us  also.  Let  us  learn  from 
them  what  we  may.  Jesus  is  our  Light. 
What  does  this  mean  ? It  is  He  who  through 
His  Church  teaches  us  the  way  of  eternal  life, 
and  is  thus  the  light  of  our  journey  through 
this  world.  They  who  know  not  the  Church 
are  in  darkness.  They  seek  for  the  light  of 
Christ,  but  they  cannot  find  it,  for  they  have 
no  guide.  They  have  proclaimed  the  Holy 
Scriptures  to  be  their  guide ; but  who  shall 
explain  the  Holy  Scriptures  to  them  ? Each 
one  takes  his  own  interpretation,  and  thus 
they  fall  away  from  one  another,  and  go  on 
by  different  paths.  Scarcely  two  of  them 
agree  even  with  regard  to  fundamental  truths. 
Some  even,  by  their  private  study  of  the 
Holy  Scriptures,  fall  into  utter  disbelief.  Out 
of  the  Church  all  is  discord  with  regard  to 
matters  of  Faith  ; but,  as  wTe  know  by  our 
own  experience,  we  may  go  where  we  will, 
and  we  shall  find  all  members  of  the  Catholic 
Church  agreeing  in  one  Faith.  How  ad- 
mirable is  this  union  in  doctrine,  which 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


109 


brings  to  bear  on  our  souls  the  true  light  of 
Jesus  Christ  ! Let  us  learn  from  this  con- 
trast to  love  the  Church  most  devotedly,  and 
to  thank  God  that,  through  no  merit  of  our 
own,  and  out  of  His  most  infinite  love  and 
mercy,  He  has  brought  us  within  her  pale. 

11. 

Jesus  is  not  only  our  light  by  His  doctrine, 
but  He  is  our  light  by  His  consolations. 
When  times  are  darkest  with  us ; when  we 
are  in  the  deepest  affliction,  we  know  that 
we  can  seek  and  find  comfort  in  the  arms  of 
our  loving  Lord.  And  how  is  this  done  ? By 
offering  to  Him  our  trials  and  crosses  in  union 
with  His  bitter  pains  of  soul  and  body,  and 
by  accepting  them  as  a punishment  for  our 
past  sins,  and  as  a corrective  for  the  future. 
It  is  also  a great  source  of  consolation  to  know 
that  God  chastises  those  whom  He  loves,  and 
that  therefore  the  darkness  of  the  hour  of 
trial  is  a pledge  of  His  regard,  and  a prelude 
to  the  dawn  of  His  light  upon  our  souls.  We 
also  know  how  to  find  comfort  in  tribulation 
by  a devout  approach  to  Him  in  prayer  and 
meditation.  The  thought  of  the  darkness  of 
His  Passion  will  bring  to  us  the  light  of  His 
sympathy ; for  He  has  known  suffering,  and 
feels  intensely  for  those  that  suffer.  The 
humble  practice  of  the  Christian  virtues  for 


IIO 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


His  dear  sake  brings  the  light  of  His  con- 
solation to  us ; not  through  that  sensible 
satisfaction  that  we  may  be  tempted  to  find  in 
it,  but  through  the  grace  which  we  drawdown 
upon  ourselves  by  an  imitation  of  Him  as  far 
as  lies  in  our  power.  Above  all,  the  devout 
approach  to  the  Sacrament  of  Penance,  and 
the  reception  of  His  most  blessed  Body 
and  Blood  in  the  Holy  Eucharist,  where  we 
feed  our  souls  upon  Him,  and  absorb  the 
delights  of  His  grace  and  love,  enlighten 
our  sorrowing  hearts  ; and  the  ‘ pledge  of 
future  glory  ’ assuages  the  pain  of  present 
distress.  Do  we  thus  seek  our  consolation  ? 
If  we  do  not,  or  have  not,  up  to  this  time,  we 
will  begin  now. 

hi. 

Consider  the  condition  on  which  Jesus  pro- 
mises us  His  light,  namely,  that  we  follow 
Him.  What  has  been  our  custom  ? Have  we 
not  very  often  indeed  followed  everything  but 
Jesus?  The  vanities  and  frivolities  of  the 
world,  the  enjoyments  of  every  day,  the 
guilty  pleasures  of  life,  thoughtless  or  wicked 
company,  laziness  and  sensual  indulgence,  all 
call  upon  us  to  follow  them.  They  constantly 
say,  ‘ Follow  me  and  they  promise  us  happi- 
ness, but  they  never  can  give  it.  The  true 
Catholic  heart  will  soon  find  out  their  hollow- 
ness— will  feel  the  bitter  remorse  which  they 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


hi 


leave,  and  will  find  nothing  but  darkness 
where  all  appeared  to  be  light.  Let  us  listen 
only  to  the  voice  of  Jesus,  who  is  still  saying, 
* Follow  Me/  Let  us  hasten  to  His  side,  if  it 
be  only  out  of  compassion  for  Him  crying  so 
often  in  vain,  ‘ Follow  Me/  To  follow  Him 
is  to  keep  His  commandments,  to  live  in 
purity  and  holiness  of  life,  to  correspond 
with  all  the  suggestions  of  His  grace,  to  avoid 
all  evil,  and  to  do  all  the  good  we  can.  I 
profess  to  be  a follower  of  Jesus ; am  I so  in 
reality  ? I will  examine  my  conscience  now. 

O Jesus ! I thank  Thee  from  my  heart 
for  having  in  Thy  goodness  brought  me  into 
Thy  Church  ; give  me  grace,  I beseech  Thee, 
to  be  a worthy  member  of  that  Church,  and 
a true  follower  of  Thee,  as  I now  resolve  to 
be,  that  so  I may  deserve  to  obtain  the  light 
of  eternal  life.  Jesus,  aid  me  by  Thy  grace. 
Pater,  Ave,  Gloria. 


:Pa00t on  <Sttnba}L 
Gospel. — St.  John  viii.  46-59. 

Listen  to  Jesus  speaking  the  words  of  eternal 
truth  to  the  Jews,  and  see  them,  instead  of 
accepting  His  gracious  call,  reviling  Him, 
accusing  Him  of  being  possessed  by  the 
devil,  and  taking  up  stones  to  cast  at  Him. 


1 12 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


I. 

How  Jesus  loved  the  Jewish  people,  to 
whom  He  was  sent  by  His  Eternal  Father  ! 
This  is  only  one  out  of  so  many  instances 
during  His  life  in  which  He  spoke  to  them 
of  the  truth,  and  they  would  not  hear  a word. 
It  was  like  speaking  to  rocks  or  trees,  or  to 
dumb,  unreasoning  animals.  Still,  ever  intent 
upon  His  sacred  mission,  He  preached  with- 
out ceasing,  as  though  He  would  not  lose  one 
chance  of  working  upon  their  stony  hearts. 
Their  threats  did  not  deter  Him  ; their  abuse 
had  not  any  more  effect  on  Him  than  their 
scorn  and  ridicule.  How  admirable  is  this 
perseverance  of  our  Divine  Lord  ! How 
worthy  of  our  homage  and  love  is  this  zeal 
for  His  Father’s  glory,  and  for  the  salvation  of 
the  souls  of  men  ! Let  me  reflect  upon  it, 
and  see  if  my  conduct  is  like  His.  Do  I not 
grow  faint-hearted  at  the  least  opposition  to 
my  spiritual  progress  ? and  do  I not  too  often 
give  way  when  the  people  about  me  are  in- 
clined to  abuse  me  for  my  religion,  and  my 
religious  observance,  or  when  they  bring 
scorn  and  ridicule  to  bear  upon  me  ? 

Jesus  not  only  bore  it  all,  but  was  most 
calm  under  it.  Do  I not  frequently  lose 
patience,  and  become  ill  - tempered  and 
angry,  when  men  speak  abusively  or  jeer- 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


JI3 


ingly  of  what  I hold  to  be  most  holy  ? I 
thus  lose  many  a chance  of  gaining  souls  to 
God.  The  vulgar  insolence  of  the  Jews  is 
very  often  repeated  by  those  who  blindly 
hate  our  Faith.  When  such  occurs  to  me 
I will  think  how  Jesus  conducted  Himself 
in  similar  circumstances,  and  I will  behave 
as  He  would  have  done. 


ii. 

The  Jews  accused  Jesus  of  having  a devil, 
that  is,  of  being  possessed.  How  grievous 
it  must  have  been  to  the  Author  of  all 
good  to  be  accused  of  being  possessed  by 
the  Spirit  of  evil  ! What  a blasphemy  this 
was  against  Him  Who  could  fearlessly  ask, 
‘ Which  of  you  shall  convict  Me  of  sin  ?’ 
Think  of  Jesus,  the  pure,  innocent  Son  of 
the  Eternal  Father,  accused  of  being  under 
the  influence  of  the  devil,  and  of  teaching 
diabolical  doctrine.  I,  unlike  Him,  have 
committed  many  sinsv  Can  I count  my 
sins  ? And  yet,  when  I am  accused  of  a 
fault,  my  pride  immediately  rises  up,  and 
my  indignation  is  roused  against  my  accuser. 
I cannot  bear  to  have  the  least  fault  laid  to 
my  charge,  nay,  I cannot  endure  that  even 
my  judgment  should  be  questioned.  When 
I am  accused  of  faults  that  I have  not  com- 
mitted, let  me  reflect  that,  if  I am  guiltless 

8 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


1 14 

of  them,  still  I am  guilty  in  many,  many 
ways,  and  that,  if  men  knew  me  as  God 
knows  me,  I should  deserve  universal  repro- 
bation and  scorn.  And,  after  all,  it  is  very 
seldom  that  I shall  be  accused  as  deeply  as 
my  dear  Lord  was. 


hi. 

Think  of  Jesus  in  His  holiness,  His  meek- 
ness, His  wonderful,  unfailing  charity. 
Think  of  His  sacred  Person ; look  upon 
His  countenance  so  unruffled;  gaze  into  His 
eyes  which  beam  forth  the  purity  of  His 
soul,  and  the  burning  ardour  of  His  charity. 
And  then  see  the  countenances  of  those 
wretched  men  who  in  their  hatred  and 
malice  take  up  stones  to  cast  at  Him.  What 
a contrast  there  is  between  those  perverse 
and  wicked  people,  and  the  innocent  Lamb  of 
God  ! If  you  were  to  see  a dear  friend  whom 
you  prized  for  his  love  to  you,  and  for  his 
own  goodness,  thus  chased  away,  and  obliged 
to  hide  himself,  threatened  by  the  coarse 
voices  and  violent  gestures  of  an  angry  and 
unreasoning  mob,  what  would  be  your 
thoughts?  If  you  could  rescue  him,  you 
would.  If  not,  your  very  heart  would  burst 
for  the  sake  of  your  friend.  Shall  it  be 
otherwise  with  Jesus,  the  truest  friend  you 
ever  had  or  can  have?  Recollect  that  He 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


US 

suffers  this,  not  only  being  your  friend,  but 
precisely  because  He  is  your  friend.  And 
can  you  refuse  Him  the  least  service  you 
can  render  Him,  namely,  the  consolation  of 
your  sympathy ? Oh  my  Jesus!  I will  go 
no  farther;  I will  not  give  Thee  a barren 
sympathy  alone,  but  I will  so  love  Thee, 
and  I will  so  sincerely  repent  of  my  past 
sins,  that  I will  take  away,  as  far  as  I can, 
the  additional  bitterness  which  they  gave  to 
all  Thy  sufferings. 

Oh  Thou  Lamb  of  God  ! Thou  that  takest 
away  the  sins  of  the  world  ! Give  me  grace 
and  strength  to  bear  all  things  for  Thy  dear 
sake.  I never  can,  in  this  world,  suffer  all 
that  my  manifold  sins  deserve.  I love  Thee 
so  much  that  I offer  myself  to  Thee  to  suffer 
for  Thy  Name’s  sake,  and  in  order  to  prove 
to  Thee  how  truly  I love  Thee.  Jesus,  aid 
me  by  Thy  grace.  Pater,  Ave,  Gloria. 


Jttxmim 32  in  passion  SBeefe. 

Gospel. — St.  John , vii.  32-39. 

Imagine  you  see  our  blessed  Lord  stand- 
ing before  the  ministers  of  the  chiefs  of  the 
people,  and  the  Pharisees,  who  were  sent  to 
seize  His  sacred  Person,  as  if  He  were  a 
malefactor.  Contemplate  Him,  and  the 


1 16  LENTEN  THOUGHTS 

Divine  serenity  of  His  presence,  and  learn 
what  lessons  you  may  from  His  conduct  and 
His  words. 

i. 

Consider  how  the  chiefs  and  the  Pharisees, 
in  their  malice  against  Jesus,  determined  to 
put  an  end  to  His  teaching ; and  with  this 
view,  sent  their  servants  to  apprehend  Him. 
His  conduct  and  His  doctrine  were  a reproach 
to  them,  besides  being  contrary  to  what  they 
were  teaching  the  people.  They  felt  them- 
selves rebuked  by  the  purity  and  consistency 
of  His  life,  for  He  enjoined  nothing  that  He 
did  not  practise ; and  all  His  teaching  was 
of  the  highest  morality,  and  the  most  sublime 
truth ; whereas  they  enforced  the  most  exact 
obedience  to  the  law  in  others,  while  their 
own  hearts  were  filled  with  pride  and  un- 
charitableness. They  could  not  help  seeing 
how  this  consistency  on  the  part  of  our  dear 
Lord  was  calculated  to  draw  many  to  His 
side,  and  to  force  upon  the  minds  of  men 
a contrast  between  Him  and  them.  Whilst 
we  admire  our  Lord,  and  conceive  a detesta- 
tion for  the  conduct  of  the  Pharisees,  let  us 
examine  and  see  whether  our  own  conduct 
resembles  most  that  of  Jesus  or  of  His  ene- 
mies. Jesus  is  our  model,  and  if  we  would 
be  saved,  we  must  endeavour  to  be  like  Him. 
And  besides  this,  we  must  remember  that 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


ii  7 

uncharitableness  towards  our  neighbour  is 
really  uncharitableness  towards  Jesus  Christ ; 
for  He  has  said  that  what  we  do  to  our 
neighbour  we  do  to  Him.  When,  therefore, 
we  blame  our  neighbour,  let  us  be  careful 
that  we  ourselves  are  blameless.  What 
thoughts  this  reflection  calls  up  in  our  minds ! 
It  forces  us  to  think  of  our  own  failings,  and  to 
resolve  to  correct  them  before  we  presume  to 
throw  blame  on  those  whose  outward  actions 
we  behold,  but  whose  hearts  we  have  no  right 
to  judge. 

ii. 

This  restriction  with  regard  to  our  judg- 
ment of  others  is  a maxim  of  the  Christian 
religion —‘Judge  not,  and  you  shall  not  be 
judged.’  It  was  little  understood  by  the 
Pharisees,  who,  because  of  their  envy  of 
Jesus,  very  quickly  passed  a judgment  upon 
Him.  We  must  not  wonder,  then,  if  people 
judge  us,  and  place  a construction  upon  what 
we  do  which  is  very  far  from  being  the  true 
interpretation  of  our  conduct.  If  this  happen 
to  us,  we  are  only  placed  in  the  same  position 
as  Jesus  Christ  was.  Our  religion  is  vilified, 
calumniated,  and  misunderstood  ; so  was  His. 
Our  words  are  wrongly  interpreted  ; so  were 
His.  Our  conduct  is  misrepresented ; His 
conduct  was  represented  as  that  of  a seditious 
blasphemer.  It  ought  to  be  a great  consola- 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


1 1 8 

tion  to  us  to  think  that  we  are  permitted  to 
suffer,  in  however  slight  a degree,  what  He 
endured,  and  that  we  are  made  more  like  Him 
by  having  trials  of  a similar  nature  to  His 
thrust  upon  our  souls.  But,  in  general,  these 
things  disturb  us  very  much ; they  make  us 
uneasy ; they  distract  us  in  our  duties  and 
our  prayers ; and  too  often  we  allow  them  to 
excite  in  us  uncharitable  and  vindictive  feel- 
ings. This  is  because  we  do  not  at  once 
reflect  upon  our  dear  Lord,  and  the  bright 
example  that  He  has  shown  us.  Moreover, 
we  have  not  the  humility  to  acknowledge, 
even  to  ourselves,  that  the  adverse  judgments 
of  men  about  us  are  very  frequently  correct, 
and  nothing  more  than  we  deserve. 

hi. 

Consider  the  words  of  Jesus  Christ,  ‘ If 
any  man  thirst,  let  him  come  to  Me  and 
drink,’  which  were  spoken  by  Him  on  the 
last  and  great  day  of  the  festival,  as  we  are 
told  in  this  day’s  Gospel.  It  is  said  that  He 
cried  them  out,  that  is,  uttered  them  with  a 
loud  and  piercing  voice,  so  that  great  numbers 
of  the  people  might  hear  them.  He  wished 
to  give  them  this  last  chance,  as  they  were 
departing  from  the  feast,  of  turning  their 
attention  to  Him.  Jesus  is  ever  crying  out 
to  our  hearts  by  the  voice  of  His  Church,  by 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


119 

our  consciences,  and  by  His  direct  inspira- 
tions, in  order  to  attract  us  to  Him.  We 
know  not  when  the  cry  of  our  Lord  may 
reach  us  for  the  last  time.  We  are  always 
uncertain  whether  or  not  the  chance  which 
we  have  of  repenting,  or  of  advancing  in 
virtue  now,  at  this  moment,  is  the  last  that 
we  shall  ever  have.  Let  us  reflect  in  time. 
Jesus  knows  how  we  are  thirsting  and  longing 
for  happiness ; and  He  tells  us  where  alone 
our  thirst  can  be  slaked,  namely,  in  Him.  All 
happiness  that  is  not  sanctified  by  coming  from 
Him,  or  by  having  Him  for  its  object,  is  vain 
and  false.  Nothing  but  true  religion  can  ever 
give  us  lasting  happiness  even  in  this  world. 

Oh  ! my  Jesus,  I am  humbled  when  I think 
how  often  I pass  severe  judgments  on  others, 
and  how  very  lenient  I am  to  myself.  I 
resolve,  by  Thy  grace,  to  think  more  of  my 
own  failings,  and  to  check  myself  when  I am 
tempted  to  think  or  speak  harshly  of  others. 
Give  me  grace  also  to  seek,  from  this  moment, 
all  my  happiness  in  Thee.  Pater,  Ave,  Gloria. 

% ueshag  in  passion 

Gospel. — St.  John  vii.  1-13. 

See  our  Divine  Lord  wandering  in  Galilee 
because  the  Jews  sought  to  kill  Him,  and  try  to 
enter  into  the  feelings  of  His  Sacred  Heart. 


20 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


I. 

Jesus  avoided  the  Jews.  He  would  not  go 
into  Judea  because  they  wished  to  kill  Him ; 
and  even  when  He  went  up  to  the  feast  of 
tabernacles,  He  would  not  go  openly,  ‘ but  as 
it  were  in  secret.’  This  was  not  because  He 
dared  not  face  His  enemies,  or  because  He 
feared  suffering  or  shrank  from  death,  but 
because  the  time  appointed  by  His  Heavenly 
Father  had  not  yet  come.  See  your  loving 
Jesus,  Jesus  whom  you  at  least  profess  to 
love,  wandering  like  an  outcast  and  a fugitive, 
with  the  knowledge  that  bloodthirsty  men 
were  anxious  to  seize  Him  and  put  Him 
to  death.  You  individually  were  in  His 
thoughts  at  that  time.  Is  it  possible,  dear 
Lord,  that  Thou  didst  think  of  me , when 
cruel  men  were  thirsting  for  Thy  blood  ? 
When  Thou  wert  an  exile  from  the  land  of 
Thy  birth  ? Ah  ! yes  ! the  love  of  Jesus  is  so 
great  that  He  has  never  forgotten  me.  I 
never  could  doubt  for  a moment  that  He 
could  forget  me,  and  yet  how  seldom,  and 
how  little  have  I realized  this  wonderful  fact ! 
If  I realized  it  to  myself  as  I ought,  I should 
never  cease  to  think  of  Him. 

ii. 

The  sensation  of  being  sought  for  to  be  put 
to  death  is  one  of  the  most  painful  positions 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


121 


in  which  a man  can  be  placed.  Let  us 
imagine  ourselves  in  such  a position,  flying 
from  justice,  and  fearful  lest  every  step  that 
we  hear  approaching  us  should  be  that  of 
one  who  seeks  us.  Such  terror  would  take 
possession  of  us  that  life  would  be  a burden. 
Jesus  was  not  flying  from  justice.  His  soul 
was  spotless,  and  those  who  sought  His  life 
were  the  very  men  whom  He  came  to  save. 
How  must  the  thought  of  the  blind  ingratitude 
of  men  have  aggravated  the  pain  of  the  know- 
ledge that  His  life  was  sought ! How  He 
loved  those  who  wished  to  kill  Him.  This 
knowledge  was  to  Him  a foretaste  of  His 
Passion.  It  was  the  dark  shadow  of  death 
hanging  over  Him  ; and  how  acutely  He  felt 
it  can  never  be  known  by  mortal  man, 
because  man  cannot  plunge  into  the  depths 
of  the  soul  of  God-made  man.  Yet  we  may, 
to  some  extent,  enter  into  His  feelings,  by 
imagining  what  our  own  would  be  in  similar 
circumstances,  and  then  trying  to  form  some 
distant  idea  of  the  intensity  of  His  feelings 
arising  from  the  strength  of  His  Divine  will  to 
suffer,  and  from  the  infinite  sensitiveness  to 
suffering  with  which  He  had  voluntarily 
clothed  Himsdf.  How  much  didst  Thou 
suffer,  dearest  J?sus,  for  my  sake,  and  how 
little  I endure  foi  Thee  ! 


122 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


III. 

The  suffering  of  the  Sacred  Heart  of  Jesus 
was  infinitely  increased  by  His  most  perfect 
and  intimate  knowledge  of  the  grievousness 
of  sin,  in  general,  and  of  the  particular  sin  of 
the  Jewish  people  in  rejecting  Him,  and 
seeking  to  destroy  Him.  He  knew  how 
terrible  this  crime  was  in  the  eyes  of  His 
Eternal  Father,  and  moreover,  what  a fearful 
chastisement  it  would  bring  upon  the  souls  of 
His  creatures,  both  in  this  world  and  the  next. 
So  His  dear  soul  was  filled  with  the  bitterness 
of  sorrow  on  account  of  men,  and  on  account 
of  the  outrage  offered  to  Eternal  Goodness 
With  these  thoughts  filling  His  heart,  He 
walks  in  Galilee,  and  with  the  same  thoughts, 
He  sends  His  brethren  to  the  feast,  and  then 
goes  secretly  Himself.  Contemplate  Him  in 
all  these  passages  of  His  life,  and  draw  from 
the  contemplation  the  reflections  to  which 
they  naturally  give  rise.  Do  not  let  Him  be 
alone  and  disconsolate.  Be  with  Him  in 
spirit  and  affection  ; and  resolve  never  to  do 
anything  which  may  separate  you  from  Him. 
Especially  resolve  to  correct  some  particular 
fault  which  keeps  you  at  a distance  from  your 
loving  Saviour. 

My  Lord  ! Thou  knowest  that  I desire  to 
love  Thee,  and  to  make  abends  to  Thee,  as 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


123 


far  as  I am  able,  not  only  for  the  crime  of 
the  Jews,  but  still  more  for  all  the  share 
that  I had  in  the  sufferings  of  Thy  Sacred 
Heart.  Oh  ! give  me  grace  to  love  Thee 
perfectly.  Pater,  Ave,  Gloria. 


®eime0hap  itt  Wink. 

Gospel. — St.John  x.  22-38. 

Consider  Jesus  in  the  character  of  the 
Good  Shepherd  speaking  about  His  sheep, 
and  remember  that  you  are  6ne  of  His  flock. 


1. 

‘ My  sheep  hear  My  voice,’  says  our  blessed 
Lord  as  He  walks  in  Solomon’s  porch,  while 
the  Jews  crowd  round  about  Him  and  ques- 
tion Him  in  their  captious  way.  He  had 
just  told  them  that  they  did  not  believe  in 
Him  because  they  were  not  of  His  sheep, 
and  now  He  says  that  His  sheep  hear  His 
voice — that  is,  believe  in  Him,  and  accept 
all  that  He  tells  them.  It  is  then  a charac- 
teristic of  the  true  sheep  of  Christ  that  they 
hear  His  voice  and  obey  His  word.  How 
sweet  and  gentle  is  the  voice  of  Jesus  speak- 
ing to  His  sheep  ! And  what  a contrast  there 
too  often  is  between  the  heavenly  Shepherd 
and  those  who  profess  to  be  His  sheep ! 


124 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


Sheep,  if  left  to  themselves,  will  wander 
away,  and  will  go  in  search  of  new  pastures, 
and  at  last  lose  themselves.  So  it  is  with  us, 
if  we  are  not  true  sheep  of  Christ,  and  do 
not  obey  His  voice.  Unless  we  hold  fast 
all  that  Jesus  has  taught  by  His  Word,  and 
by  His  Church,  we  shall  soon  lose  ourselves, 
and  find  our  poor  souls  like  sheep  without 
a shepherd.  This  not  only  concerns  matters 
of  faith,  but  also  the  observance  of  the  whole 
of  the  Christian  law.  Have  I hitherto  listened 
attentively  to  the  voice  of  the  Good  Shepherd  ? 
Have  I always  done  that  which  my  conscience 
has  told  me  I ought  to  do ; and  avoided  that 
which  the  same  conscience  has  proclaimed 
to  be  wrong  ? I know  that  I belong  to  the 
fold  of  Jesus  by  being  a member  of  His 
One  Holy,  Roman,  Catholic  and  Apostolic 
Church  ; still,  I shall  be  lost  if  I follow  the 
dictates  of  my  will  and  my  passions,  and  do 
not  act  according  to  that  conscience  which 
God  has  given  me. 


ii. 

4 I know  them,  and  they  follow  Me,’  He 
goes  on  to  say.  What  a thing  this  is  that 
Jesus  should  know  us,  not  vaguely,  generally, 
and  in  a mass,  but  individually  and  per- 
sonally ! Then  Jesus  knows  me,  intimately 
and  perfectly.  I can  conceal  nothing  from 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


125 


Him.  He  knows  what  special  care  has  been 
bestowed  upon  me;  what  graces  I have  re- 
ceived, and  how  I have  corresponded  with 
them.  He  knows  how  much  good  there  may 
be  in  me,  and  how  very  much  evil.  What  a 
consolation  it  is  to  the  soul  that  is  striving  to 
love  God  to  feel  that  Jesus  the  Good  Shepherd 
is  ever  watching  over  it,  knows  all  its  trials 
and  temptations,  and  all  its  struggles  in  the 
contest  with  the  world,  the  flesh,  and  the 
devil ! If  Jesus  knows  me  so  well,  ought  I 
not  to  endeavour  to  know  Him  as  far  as  I may 
in  this  place  of  exile  ? I will  ever  remember 
the  knowledge  that  Jesus  has  of  me,  and  of 
all  that  I think,  and  say,  and  do,  and  of  all 
my  ways,  and  every  circumstance  of  my  life ; 
and  I will  try  to  arrive  at  a true  knowledge 
of  Him  by  daily  meditation. 

hi. 

The  great  inestimable  reward  that  Jesus 
promises  to  His  true  and  faithful  sheep  is 
the  recompense  of  eternal  life.  Nothing  less 
than  this  is  in  store  for  them.  On  the  other 
hand,  if  eternal  life  is  the  reward  of  the  good 
sheep,  what  but  everlasting  death  is  the 
punishment  of  those  disobedient  ones  of  the 
flock,  who  follow  the  devices  of  their  own 
hearts,  and  desert  the  true  Shepherd  ? Oh  ! 
what  inexpressible  woe  it  is  to  be  separated 


126 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


for  ever  from  Jesus,  to  be  banished  from  the 
happy  fields  of  Heaven  to  the  arid,  burnt-up 
desert  of  hell ! On  the  other  hand,  what 
unutterable  joy  to  feed  for  ever  in  the  pastures 
of  eternal  life  by  the  side  of  the  Good  Shepherd 
whose  voice  we  have  heard,  and  whose  steps 
we  have  followed  in  this  vale  of  our  pilgrimage ! 
Jesus,  I love  Thee  as  I see  Thee  talking  to 
the  Jews  who  do  not  believe  Thee,  and  speak- 
ing also  to  my  heart.  But  what  is  this  ? They 
take  up  stones  to  cast  at  Thee  ! I am  not 
one  of  those,  dear  Lord  ! I fly  to  Thy  side 
to  shield  Thee  from  their  rage,  or  to  suffer 
with  Thee. 

Oh  ! Thou  Good  Shepherd  ! I wish  to  be 
one  of  the  most  obedient,  gentle,  and  loving 
of  Thy  Flock.  The  world  may  think  me  a 
fool  for  remaining  at  Thy  side,  but  I care 
not,  so  long  as  Thou  regardest  me  with  love 
and  approval.  Give  me  grace  ever  to  remain 
faithful  to  Thee.  Pater,  Ave,  Gloria. 


^httrsiia}}  in  §Eeek. 

Gospel. — St.  Luke  vii.  36-50. 

Imagine  the  scene  related  in  the  Gospel 
of  to-day  ; and  represent  vividly  to  your 
mind  the  persons,  the  actions,  and  the 
words. 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


127 


I. 

Consider  our  dear  Lord’s  kindness  in 
accepting  the  invitation  of  a man  who,  by 
his  profession,  was  among  the  enemies  of 
Jesus.  Look  upon  our  Lord  as  He  reclines 
at  the  table,  and  study  His  goodness.  What 
gentleness  and  charity  appear  in  His  sacred 
countenance  ! What  unassuming  dignity  in 
every  gesture  ! In  Him  there  is  nothing 
which  could  give  offence.  The  purity  of 
holiness  surrounds  Him.  What  is  my  con- 
duct when  I am  among  my  friends,  especially 
on  convivial  occasions  ? Can  I look  back 
upon  such  scenes,  and  say  that  I never  did, 
or  said,  or  thought  anything  which  I should 
wish  to  recall  ? That  I never  gave  offence, 
bad  example,  or  scandal  ? Consider  also 
Magdalen  full  of  love  and  veneration  for 
our  Divine  Redeemer  now,  though  she  had 
been  a sinner.  She  had  probably  heard  the 
Divine  admonitions  of  Jesus  ; at  all  events, 
her  heart  was  moved  with  repentance  for  her 
misdeeds,  and  she  comes  to  Him  for  forgive- 
ness. It  is  touching  to  see  the  wandering 
sheep  thus  come  to  seek  her  shepherd. 
What  sorrow  there  is  in  her  poor  wounded 
heart ! What  love  for  Him  Who  alone  can 
heal  her  soul ! Compare  the  two,  Magdalen 
and  Jesus  ; perfect  repentance  and  perfect 


128 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


innocence.  How  near  they  come  together, 
innocence  and  repentance  ! How  sweetly 
the  Divine  innocence  of  Jesus  takes  the 
repentant  sinner  to  its  love  ! Let  us  be  very 
tender  and  gentle  with  sinners,  that  we  may 
bring  them  to  repentance. 


ii. 

Magdalen  came  into  the  house  of  the 
Pharisee  while  they  were  at  meat.  The 
ardour  of  her  desire  for  forgiveness  made 
her  break  through  the  strict  conventionalities 
of  life;  she  could  not  wait.  Before  all  the 
guests  she  washed  His  feet  with  her  tears, 
and  wiped  them  with  her  hair ; she  kissed 
His  feet,  and  anointed  them  with  ointment. 
Her  desire  for  pardon  was  equalled  by  her 
wish  to  make  public  reparation  for  her  public 
sins  ; and  so  she  does  not  seek  for  reconcilia- 
tion in  concealment,  but  allows  the  over- 
flowing grief  and  love  of  her  heart  to  gush 
forth  in  the  presence  of  all  the  company. 
She  stood  behind,  and  at  His  feet ; ashamed, 
confused,  and  humbled  at  the  thought  of  her 
sinful  state,  she  shrank  from  looking  on  His 
face,  and  found  at  His  sacred  feet  the  proper 
place  for  her  repentance.  When  conscience 
speaks  to  us,  or  remorse  moves  our  hearts, 
do  we  seek  at  once  to  be  reconciled  to  our 
Lord  by  the  Sacrament  of  Penance  ? Do  we 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


129 


thus  go  to  Him  for  pardon  the  moment  that 
we  find  that  we  have  done  wrong  ? Do  we 
even  make  an  act  of  contrition  ? I will 
amend,  dear  Jesus.  Again  ; if  we  have  given 
scandal  or  bad  example,  do  we  remember  to 
make  all  the  reparation  that  is  in  our  power  ? 
Am  I truly  confused,  and  ashamed,  and 
humbled,  when  I think  of  my  many  offences 
against  God  ? 

hi. 

Think  of  the  words  of  Jesus,  so  full  of 
kindness  and  tenderness  towards  the  repent- 
ant Magdalen.  There  is  not  one  reproach. 
Not  one  word  to  cause  a painful  feeling. 
On  the  contrary,  Jesus  enumerates  her  good 
actions,  and  expresses  a most  generous  appre- 
ciation of  each.  He  might  have  recounted 
her  sins  one  by  one  to  show  the  extent  of 
His  goodness  in  forgiving  her  ; but  this 
would  not  have  been  in  accordance  with  His 
loving  ways  towards  repenting  sinners.  He 
leaves  out  the  balance  of  sin,  and  only 
reckons  up  the  sum  of  repentant  acts.  How 
sweetly  the  character  of  our  Lord  comes  out 
in  all  this  touching  scene  ! Sinners  have 
here  a great  encouragement.  Weak,  foolish, 
wicked  as  we  may  be,  Jesus  is  ever  ready  to 
forgive,  the  moment  that  we  repent.  His 
Church  is  like  Him  in  this ; and  all  true 

9 


130 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


Christian  hearts  will  welcome  and  cherish 
the  poor  soul  that  has  gone  astray,  but  now 
returns  to  God’s  grace  by  sincere  repentance. 
Let  me  learn  to  love  Jesus  more  and  more 
for  His  goodness.  Let  me  also  resolve  to 
endeavour  more  and  more  to  have  zeal  for 
the  salvation  of  souls,  and  in  all  my  dealings 
with  persons  who  have  committed  faults,  to 
imitate  the  conduct  of  my  dear  Lord. 

Oh,  Jesus  ! model  of  innocence  ! Give 
me  the  grace  of  sincere  repentance.  Let  no 
consideration  of  human  respect,  or  any  other 
feeling,  cause  me  to  delay  when  I know  that 
I have  sinned.  I resolve,  O Lord,  by  Thy 
grace,  to  repent  at  once,  and  to  confess  my 
sins  with  love,  humility,  and  sorrow.  Give 
me  also  the  great  grace  which  shall  teach  me 
how  to  deal  with  those  who  have  done  wrong. 
Pater,  Ave,  Gloria. 

Jfriiiai)  in  passion  Witzk. 

Gospel. — St.  John  xi.  47-54. 

Imagine  you  see  Jesus  avoiding  the  Jews, 
and  going  with  His  disciples  to  Ephrem 
because  they  sought  to  kill  Him. 

1. 

Consider  the  wickedness  of  the  chief  priests 
and  Pharisees,  who  assembled  together  in 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


I3I 

council  against  Jesus.  To  us  it  sounds 
terrible  to  say  against  Jesus,  and  yet,  how 
much  is  done  every  day  against  Him  ! And 
by  persons  who  call  themselves  Christians  ! 
All  that  is  done  against  the  law  of  God,  and 
against  His  will,  is  against  Jesus.  Every 
time  that  we  break  a commandment ; every 
time  that  we  commit  a sin,  we  conspire  with 
the  devil  against  Jesus.  All  the  uncharitable- 
ness or  injustice  that  we  exhibit  towards  our 
neighbour  is  against  Jesus.  Whenever  we 
scandalize  anyone,  and  lead  another  into  sin, 
it  is  all  against  Jesus.  The  neglect  of  parents 
with  regard  to  their  children,  of  superiors 
with  respect  to  those  placed  under  them,  is 
against  Him.  The  omission  or  disregard  of 
the  special  duties  of  our  state  of  life  ; the 
taking  advantage  of  any  position  to  oppress 
or  injure  others,  is  against  Him.  The  making 
use  of  our  talents  to  the  injury  of  the  faith  or 
morals  of  others,  by  speaking,  by  writing,  by 
the  press,  or  by  any  other  means,  is  all 
against  Him.  If  those  who  are  comparatively 
rich  despise  or  neglect  the  poor,  it  is  being 
against  Jesus.  The  refusal  to  observe,  or  the 
wilful  omission  to  obey,  the  commandments 
of  the  Church,  is  against  Him.  All  the  wild 
clamour  of  the  world  against  the  Church  of 
Christ,  and  against  His  Vicar,  is  against 
Him.  All  the  attacks  made  upon  the 

9—2 


132 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


Catholic  Faith  are  against  Him.  How 
much  has  His  dear  Sacred  Heart  to  bear  ! 
Let  me  examine,  and  see  how  much  of  all 
this  can  be  laid  to  my  charge. 


ii. 

The  chief  priests  of  the  Jews  and  the 
Pharisees  conspired  against  our  Lord  for  a 
temporal  consideration.  They  said,  ‘ If  we 
let  Him  alone  so,  all  men  will  believe  in 
Him,  and  the  Romans  will  come  and  take 
away  our  place  and  nation.’  Their  opposition 
to  Jesus  in  this  instance  arose  from  a mere 
worldly  policy.  They  cared  not  if  His 
doctrine  were  true  or  not ; all  they  thought 
of  was  the  stability  of  their  nation  ; and 
because  they  were  in  dread  of  the  power  of 
Rome,  they  determined  to  seek  the  destruc- 
tion of  Him  Who  came  to  preach  the  truth  to 
the  world.  Has  this  no  analogy  in  the 
public  history  of  our  own  times  ? Has  it  no 
counterpart  in  the  private  history  of  our  own 
souls  ? For  what  are  we  ready  to  go  against 
Jesus?  Is  it  for  some  higher  good?  No; 
for  we  know  that  there  is  nothing  higher  or 
better  ; but  we  sacrifice  Him  and  His  interest 
to  the  lowest  and  most  miserable  considera- 
tions. We  give  Him  up  ; we  commit  sin  for 
the  sake  of  the  world  and  its  pride,  and 
vanity,  and  empty  glory.  We  commit  sin  to 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


133 


gratify  the  whim  of  a moment,  or  to  satisfy 
the  ambition  of  a life.  We  commit  sin  for 
a momentary  delight,  or  for  a hateful  passion. 
Let  me  consider  the  wretched  inducements 
that  have  led  me  to  commit  sin  of  whatever 
nature  it  may  be,  and  see  what  part  I have 
had  in  the  mental  sufferings  of  our  Lord, 
when  He  went  to  the  borders  of  the  desert 
on  account  of  His  cruel  persecution  by  the 
Jews. 

hi. 

It  was  the  goodness  and  the  power  of 
Jesus  which  raised  up  such  bitter  enemies 
against  Him-  ‘ This  man  doth  many  miracles/ 
they  exclaim.  What  were  the  miracles  of 
Jesus?  Curing  the  sick,  the  lame,  and  the 
blind ; raising  the  dead  to  life ; changing 
water  into  wine,  lest  the  friendly  conviviality 
of  a marriage  feast  should  be  spoiled  ; all 
indicative  of  His  intense  goodness  and 
charity.  Does  this  apply  at  all  to  me  ? Am 
I ever  against  Him  on  account  of  His  good- 
ness and  power?  Ah  ! yes  ; for  were  it  not 
for  that  infinite  goodness  of  His,  I should  not 
have  the  chance  of  sinning  twice.  If  I had 
my  deserts,  I should  have  died  after  my  first 
sin.  It  is  precisely  because  I know  His 
goodness  and  have  had  experience  of  His 
power  in  preserving  my  life  that  I have  ever 
dared  to  sin.  In  another  way  I may  have 


134 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


gone  against  Him  for  His  goodness,  if  I have 
ever  been  jealous  or  envious  of  the  spiritual 
or  temporal  good  of  others  ; if  I have  ever 
felt  a certain  rancour  against  others  who 
were  better  than  myself,  and  if,  in  conse- 
quence of  their  good  acts  or  pious  practices, 
I have  had  a sort  of  malicious  pleasure  in 
running  them  down  or  in  ridiculing  them. 
Such  things  are  not  uncommon,  however 
much  they  may  seem  to  be  against  our  moral 
sense ; let  me  therefore  examine  myself  on 
these  points,  and  correct  whatever  may  be 
amiss. 

Oh  ! Jesus,  I compassionate  Thee  in  all 
the  sufferings  of  Thy  Sacred  Heart  and 
Mind,  particularly  those  which  have  the 
peculiar  malice  of  being  inflicted  for  Thy 
goodness.  I have  sinned,  as  Thou  knowest, 
my  dear  and  loving  Lord,  but,  by  Thy  grace, 
I will  do  better  in  future.  Pater,  Ave, 
Gloria. 

(Safuriiaj)  in  passion  Wittk . 

Gospel. — St.  John  x ii.  10-36. 

See  our  blessed  Lord  brought  in  triumph 
to  Jerusalem  ; look  upon  Him,  and  learn  the 
feelings  of  His  Heart;  study  them  and  the 
other  lessons  to  be  derived  from  the  Gospel 
of  to-day. 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


135 


I. 

The  envy  of  the  chief  priests  of  the  Jews 
was  so  great  that  they  sought  to  kill  not 
only  our  dear  Lord,  but  also  Lazarus  His 
friend,  whom  He  had  raised  from  the  dead. 
What  a different  sentiment  was  excited  in 
the  multitude  ! For  the  Evangelist  tells  us 
that  it  was  on  account  of  the  fame  of  this 
miracle  that  the  people  went  forth  to  meet 
Jesus.  We,  as  members  of  the  true  Church 
of  Christ,  profess  to  be  His  friends.  He  has 
certainly  chosen  us  to  be  so,  as  much  as  He 
chose  Lazarus,  and  if  we  are  not  His  friends 
it  is  our  own  fault.  Since  we  profess  to  be 
the  especial  friends  of  Jesus,  we  must  not  be 
surprised  or  downcast  if  the  world  ill-treat 
us  on  account  of  our  religion.  This  very 
ill-treatment  should  be  a source  of  consola- 
tion to  us,  since,  among  others,  it  is  one  proof 
of  the  truth  of  our  faith,  and  it  moreover 
makes  us  more  like  our  Divine  Master.  We 
can  better  sympathize  with  His  sufferings 
when  we  have  to  suffer  something  for  His 
sake.  Again,  it  should  console  us  to  know 
that  the  very  things  which  are  seized  upon 
as  pretexts  for  the  world  to  hate  us,  are  a 
source  of  attraction  to  the  Faith  to  many 
others,  just  as  the  resurrection  of  Lazarus 
acted  in  opposite  ways  with  the  Jews.  It 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


136 

made  some  desire  to  kill  Lazarus  as  well  as 
Jesus,  while  it  led  others  to  meet  Jesus  and 
to  sing,  4 Hosanna ! Blessed  is  He  that 
cometh  in  the  Name  of  the  Lord,  the  King 
of  Israel.’ 

11. 

Consider  our  dear  Lord  arriving  at  the 
descent  of  Mount  Olivet,  and  see  how  mul- 
titudes of  the  people  meet  Him ; they  tear 
branches  from  the  palm  trees,  and  wave 
them  in  triumph  before  Him,  while  some 
cast  their  garments  in  the  way,  that  the  feet 
of  the  ass  on  which  He  rides  may  pass  over 
them.  Hear  how  they  shout  with  joyful 
acclamation,  ‘ Hosanna  to  the  son  of  David. 
Blessed  is  He  that  cometh  in  the  Name  of 
the  Lord  ’ (St.  Matt.  xxi.  9).  Join  in  this 
triumph  with  all  your  heart ; unite  with 
that  multitude,  and  proclaim  the  glory  of 
the  son  of  David,  the  King  of  your  heart. 
But  how  does  Jesus  act  in  this  triumphant 
scene  ? Is  He  elated  with  joy  and  gratifica- 
tion? No  ; He  weeps,  as  St.  Luke  tells  us, 
not  for  Himself,  but  for  the  coming  destruc- 
tion of  His  beloved  Jerusalem,  and  for 
the  sins  of  the  people,  which  would  draw 
upon  them  that  destruction.  Truly  this  is 
a moving  scene  ; the  people  showing  every 
demonstration  of  joy,  and  Jesus,  the  object 
of  their  acclamations,  weeping.  Cherish 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


137 


those  sacred  tears,  and  learn  how  much  love 
there  is  in  that  dear  Heart  which  suffered 
such  intense  sorrow  on  account  of  men, 
when  they  were  in  the  height  of  exultation 
on  account  of  Him. 


hi. 

Hear  how  those  joyful  sounds  are  re- 
echoed by  the  walls  of  Jerusalem,  which  in 
so  short  a time  were  to  return  to  Mount 
Olivet  the  fearful  cry  of  * Crucify  Him.’ 
How  short  lived  is  popularity  ! The  idol  of 
the  people  to-day,  is  to-morrow  the  object 
of  their  scorn  and  deadly  hatred.  The 
whole  city  is  at  the  feet  of  Jesus  on  Mount 
Olivet,  and  in  a very  little  while  He  will 
not  have  one  friend  near  Him.  Those  who 
labour  for  popular  favour  will  soon  discover 
how  fleeting  and  changeable  it  is.  It  can 
never  confer  true  and  lasting  happiness,  be- 
cause it  is  so  liable  to  fluctuations.  If  the 
public  feeling  changed  so  entirely  and  so 
rapidly  with  regard  to  Jesus,  we  may  be 
quite  sure  that  the  slightest  accident  will 
turn  all  the  favour  that  we  may  enjoy  into 
the  bitterness  of  hatred.  Nothing  merely 
human  can  give  solid  joy  to  any  true 
Christian.  It  is  God  alone  and  the  things 
of  God  which  can  give  it.  In  what  have  I 
sought  my  happiness  ? Is  it  in  the  praise 


38 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


of  men’s  lips  ? It  will  vanish  like  smoke, 
and  leave  me  desolate.  If  I have  worked 
only  to  please  men,  or  chiefly,  or  even  partly 
for  this  end,  my  happiness  cannot  last  even 
in  this  world.  And,  as  for  the  next  ! what 
will  be  my  thoughts  of  mere  human  applause 
when  I come  to  die  ? 

O dear  Lord  Jesus ! give  me  a true  love  of 
Thee,  so  that  I may  be  really  Thy  friend. 
Let  me  share  in  Thy  sorrows  that  I may  be 
more  like  Thee.  I resolve  for  Thy  sake  to 
despise  the  favour  of  the  world,  and  to  seek 
only  for  Thy  approbation.  Do  Thou  aid  me 
by  Thy  grace.  Pater,  Ave,  Gloria. 

|)alm 

Gospel. — The  Passion  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ , according  to  St.  Matthew  xxvi. 
and  xxvii. 

Behold  our  blessed  Lord  in  the  garden  of 
Gethsemani,  overwhelmed  with  sorrow ; and 
imagine  yourself  to  be  near,  so  that  you  can 
see  Him  and  hear  Him. 


i. 

Contemplate  our  dear  Lord  after  the  Last 
Supper,  during  which  He  had  foretold  that 
Judas  would  betray  Him,  and  had  instituted 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


139 


that  legacy  of  His  most  infinite  love,  the  Holy 
Eucharist,  descending  with  His  disciples  the 
hill-side  from  the  gate  of  Jerusalem  to  the 
little  garden  of  Gethsemani.  He  was  accus- 
tomed to  pray  in  this  garden,  and  now  He 
goes  to  it  for  the  last  time,  knowing  full  well 
what  awaits  Him  there.  Yet  He  does  not 
shrink  as  yet  from  the  thought  of  all  His 
coming  sufferings,  but  with  unutterable  calm- 
ness pursues  His  way  towards  the  accomplish- 
ment of  His  Father’s  will,  and  the  Redemp- 
tion of  man.  See  how,  after  telling  the  rest 
of  the  disciples  to  remain  at  some  distance, 
He  takes  Peter,  and  James,  and  John,  the 
three  who  had  beheld  His  Transfiguration, 
to  be  near  Him,  and  watch  with  Him.  Hear 
what  He  says  to  them  : ‘ My  Soul  is  sorrow- 
ful even  unto  death.5  Surely  such  sad  words 
were  never  uttered  in  this  world  before  or 
since.  His  sorrow  is  so  great,  His  pain  of 
soul  is  so  intense,  that  the  least  addition  to 
it  would  kill  Him.  It  brought  Him  to  the 
very  gates  of  death.  He  suffered  in  His 
sacred  Soul  all  the  deep  agony  of  dying  per- 
sons. It  seemed  as  if  His  very  soul  would 
die,  if  such  were  possible.  See  Him  as  He 
tells  this  so  sadly  to  the  three  disciples  ; look 
on  His  face  so  expressive  of  the  woe  of  His 
dear  Soul. 


140 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


II. 

Then,  going  a little  farther,  He  falls  upon 
His  face,  with  all  the  weight  of  His  sorrow 
upon  Him,  and  prays  to  His  Eternal  Father. 
What  is  His  prayer  ? 4 Father,  if  it  be  pos- 

sible, let  this  chalice  pass  from  Me.  Never- 
theless, not  as  I will,  but  as  Thou  wilt.’ 
What  a lesson  for  me  ! I cannot  bear  the 
smallest  pains  and  inconveniences  without 
murmuring — I who  deserve  so  much  for  my 
sins  ! But  Jesus  suffers  for  me  with  an  ex- 
pression of  deepest  submission  to  His  Father’s 
will.  Pain  and  trouble  often  prevent  me 
from  praying  or  turning  my  heart  to  God  at 
all  ; but  suffering  only  makes  Jesus  pray  the 
more — ‘and  being  in  an  agony,  He  prayed 
the  longer  * (St.  Luke  xxii.  43).  How  the 
agony  of  His  Soul  affects  His  Body  ! See 
how  the  blood  is  pressed  from  every  pore ! 
He  writhes  upon  the  ground  like  a crushed 
worm.  Can  this  be  Jesus?  Can  this  be  the 
innocent  Lamb  of  God  ? Can  this  be  He 
Who,  true  God  and  true  Man,  loves  me  with 
an  eternal  love  ? Oh,  it  is  true  ! But  I fly 
to  Thee,  my  Jesus,  my  Lord,  Thou  love  of 
my  heart,  and  I will  console  Thee  by  never 
sinning  more.  There  never  was  sorrow  like 
unto  His  sorrow,  for  it  was  the  sorrow  of  a 
whole  world,  and  of  all  the  ages  of  the  world, 
that  pressed  upon  Him. 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


14 


III. 

Jesus  willed,  with  the  whole  intensity  of 
His  will  of  God,  to  suffer,  and  this  made  His 
sufferings  infinite.  But  the  cause  of  His 
suffering  in  the  garden  ? It  was,  in  part,  the 
sight  which  He  had  of  all  the  other  suffer- 
ings which  were  to  come  upon  Him  both  in 
body  and  mind ; but,  still  more,  it  was  the 
close  proximity  to  which  He  was  brought 
with  sin.  He  hated  sin.  He  instinctively 
shrank  from  sin  with  such  a sense  of  positive 
pain  as  when  the  most  delicate  nerves  of  our 
bodies  are  wounded  ; and  yet,  in  His  derelic- 
tion in  Gethsemani,  it  seemed  to  Him  as  if 
He  alone  were  guilty  of  all  the  sins  that  have 
been,  or  will  be,  committed  in  the  world, 
from  the  sin  of  our  first  parents  to  the  last 
sin  of  the  last  man.  They  were  piled  in  one 
vast  and  nauseous  heap  upon  Him.  They 
clung  to  Him,  and  seemed  to  burn  into  His 
very  soul,  and  to  be  made  His  and  His  alone. 
They  formed  a dark  cloud  about  Him, 
shutting  out  the  very  heavens.  His  eyes 
saw  nothing  but  .sin,  His  ears  were  dinned 
with  horrid  cries  of  sin,  He  felt  but  the 
loathsome  touch  of  sin,  He  breathed  the 
odious,  noisome  atmosphere  of  sin.  And  He 
so  innocent  that  heaven  has  nothing  purer ! 
My  God  ! what  terrible  woe  was  all  this  to 
the  Sacred  Heart  of  Jesus  ! What  part  had 


142 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


I in  this?  Let  me  try  to  pluck  out  from 
that  heap  my  own  sins.  I begin  ; but  sin 
after  sin  develops  itself,  and  the  more  I 
search  the  more  I find,  till  the  task  seems 
almost  hopeless.  Still,  I will  go  on.  1 will 
examine  my  conscience,  I will  confess  my 
sins,  I will  be  sorry  for  them,  and  I will  re- 
solve never  to  commit  them  again.  O my 
dear  Jesus  ! as  Thou  liest  upon  Thy  face  in 
the  garden,  Thou  dost  think  of  me  as  much 
as  if  I were  the  only  creature  of  Thy  hands 
upon  the  earth.  Thou  dost  feel  my  sins 
individually  pressing  upon  Thee,  and  hurt- 
ing Thy  dear  soul  with  unspeakable  wounds. 
I will  never  offend  Thee  again.  Jesus,  aid 
me  by  Thy  grace.  Pater,  Ave,  Gloria. 

Jttmiiiaj)  in  g)olg  SEUek ♦ 

Gospel. — St.  JoJm  xii.  1-9. 

Imagine  Jesus  in  the  house  of  Simon  the 
leper  at  Bethania.  See  Lazarus  and  his 
sisters;  the  disciples  with  Judas  among 
them  ; study  the  whole  scene,  and  endeavour 
to  draw  some  good  out  of  it  for  yourself. 

1. 

It  is  the  most  commonly  received  opinion 
that  the  woman,  Mary,  who  is  described  to 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


143 


have  anointed  the  feet  of  our  dear  Lord,  is 
the  same  Mary  Magdalen  who  is  related  by 
St.  Luke,  chap,  vii.,  to  have  performed  a 
similar  action  at  an  earlier  period.  Thus 
this  is  the  second  time  that  she  comes  with 
a public  manifestation  of  her  great  love  for 
Jesus,  and  it  is  worthy  of  remark  that 
St.  Matthew,  chap,  xxvi.,  tells  us  that  she 
anointed  His  head.  The  first  time  it  was 
only  His  feet,  as  most  fitting  to  Mary  when 
repenting;  now  His  head  also,  as  the  effect 
of  the  love  of  Mary  sanctified.  Thus  love 
and  humility  are  very  conspicuous  in  the 
conduct  of  Mary ; and,  indeed,  they  may  be 
said  to  contain  the  sum  and  substance  of 
our  duty  to  our  dear  Lord.  We  cannot  love 
Him  as  we  ought  without  having  faith  and 
hope  in  Him,  and  without  keeping  His 
commandments ; and  we  cannot  have  true 
humility  without  a sense  of  our  own  help- 
lessness without  Him,  and  sincere  sorrow 
for  our  offences.  Is  the  love  that  I have  for 
Jesus  solidly  grounded  upon  true  charity  and 
humility?  Let  me  be  careful  that  my  devo- 
tion is  not  merely  sentimental  or  emotional, 
and  that  it  has  a true  foundation.  In  order 
to  discover  this,  let  me  examine  and  see  if  I 
am  good  only  by  fits  and  starts  ; if  I am 
pious  and  virtuous  only  when  piety  and 
virtue  happen  to  fall  in  with  my  own  humour  ; 


144 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


or  if  I am  steadily  and  perseveringly  good 
and  religious  in  spite  of  dryness  of  spirit, 
disinclination  of  mind,  or  outward  distrac- 
tions and  temptations.  If  I find  that  my 
examination  is  against  me,  I will  set  to  work 
at  once  to  correct  my  fault. 

ii. 

Consider  how,  in  the  midst  of  the  consola- 
tion which  Jesus  derived  from  the  pious  act 
of  Mary  Magdalen,  His  blessed  soul  was 
pained  by  hearing  one  of  His  own  Apostles 
blaming  the  manifestation  of  her  piety.  How 
harshly  the  rude  objection  of  Judas  must 
have  jarred  against  His  tender  Heart  ! How 
chillingly  the  cold  calculation  must  have 
fallen  upon  the  ears  of  so  many  who  loved 
Him  ! It  is  the  fate  of  the  truly  pious  to  be 
misunderstood,  and  to  meet  with  rude  shocks 
to  their  feelings  of  devotion.  Let  us  not  be 
discouraged  if  the  worldly-minded,  or  even 
persons  whom  we  esteem  as  good,  do  not 
appreciate  all  that  we  do  for  God  in  the 
candid  sincerity  of  our  hearts.  If  we  are 
truly  good,  we  shall  have  no  great  idea  of 
our  own  good  acts ; and  we  shall  moreover 
remember  that  no  amount  of  the  world’s  dis- 
approval will  diminish  what  merit  we  may 
have  in  the  sight  of  God. 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


145 


III. 

Judas  blamed  the  conduct  of  Mary  in 
pouring  ointment  upon  the  head  and  feet  of 
Jesus,  on  the  ground  that  it  might  have  been 
sold,  and  the  price  given  to  the  poor.  The 
Gospel  goes  on  to  say  : ‘ Now  he  said  this, 
not  because  he  cared  for  the  poor,  but  be- 
cause he  was  a thief.’  How  infinitely  painful 
it  must  have  been  to  the  Sacred  Heart  of 
Jesus  to  hear  this  declaration  of  pretended 
solicitude  for  the  poor,  when  He  knew  every 
thought  that  passed  through  the  mind  of  the 
traitor  Judas,  and  every  motive  that  influ- 
enced His  conduct ! It  was  His  intimate 
knowledge  of  hearts  and  of  motives,  His 
clear  perception  of  every  human  thought, 
that  added  so  much  to  the  pain  of  Jesus 
Christ  both  before  and  during  His  Passion. 
Or  rather,  it  was  this  that  gave  to  all  His 
sufferings  one  of  those  distinctive  character- 
istics which  set  them  apart  from  the  ordinary 
sufferings  of  men.  It  was  not  only  words 
that  were  said,  and  actions  that  were  done, 
that  afflicted  Jesus.  It  was  not  merely  that 
He  perceived,  as  any  man  might  perceive,  that 
He  was  treacherously  sold  and  delivered  up, 
that  He  was  falsely  accused,  that  He  was 
struck,  and  spit  upon,  and  scourged,  and 
crowned  with  thorns,  and  crucified ; but  He 

10 


146 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


had  a clear  and  distinct  view  of  the  hearts, 
and  minds,  and  souls,  and  consciences,  and 
thoughts,  not  only  of  the  men  who  did  these 
deeds  upon  His  sacred  Body,  but  of  all  men 
from  the  beginning  to  the  end  of  time. 
What  a hideous  picture  to  be  presented 
to  the  Lord  of  holiness ! I know  what 
He  saw  in  the  heart  of  Judas;  what  did 
He  see  then,  and  what  does  He  see  now, 
in  my  heart  ? 

O my  God ! give  me  true  love  towards 
Thee,  and  true  humility.  Let  me  see  myself 
as  Thou  seest  me ; and  give  me  grace  never 
to  try  to  cover  my  real  badness  with  a veil  of 
hypocrisy.  Dearest  Lord,  I resolve  to  en- 
deavour to  make  amends  to  Thee  for  all  the 
bitter  pain  Thou  didst  endure  for  me,  by 
loving  Thee  as  much  as  I can,  and  by  en- 
deavouring, by  a good  example,  to  lead 
others  to  love  Thee.  Do  Thou  aid  me  by 
Thy  grace.  Pater,  Ave,  Gloria. 

caEue0baj)  in 

Gospel.  — The  Passion  of  our  Lord  Jesus 

Christ , accordmg  to  St.  Mark  xiv.  and  xv. 

Picture  to  yourself  Jesus  carried  by  the 
rude  men  who  had  taken  Him  prisoner,  to 
the  high  priest,  and  placed  like  a criminal 
before  him. 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


147 


I. 

Consider  Jesus  in  the  hands  of  a cruel 
and  remorseless  mob  of  soldiers  and  other 
persons,  entirely  surrounded  by  enemies. 
Like  ravenous  wolves,  they  thirst  for  His 
blood.  See  the  dark  satisfaction  of  the  chief 
priests,  and  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees ; tlie 
rudeness  of  the  soldiers,  the  wild  spirit  of 
persecution  of  the  lawless  ruffians  who  drag 
Him  along.  Hear  their  loud  cries,  and  the 
injurious  words  and  insults  that  are  heaped 
upon  this  innocent  Lamb  of  God.  It  is  our 
Father,  our  Brother,  our  most  faithful  and 
loving  Friend,  Who  is  thus  hurried  before  the 
judgment-seat,  with  such  a terrible  array  of 
enemies  around  Him.  It  is  the  Eternal 
Word  made  flesh  Who  is  thus  treated  as  the 
vilest  malefactor.  It  is  the  Everlasting  Son 
of  God  Who  came  down  from  heaven  to 
bleed  and  to  die,  in  order  to  save  the  very 
men  who  clamour  for  His  punishment  and 
death.  Before  the  high  priest  He,  true  God 
as  well  as  true  Man,  is  accused  of  blasphemy  ! 
Witness  after  witness  is  brought  against  Him, 
and  there  is  not  one  to  speak  in  His  favour, 
though  the  witnesses  were  false,  and  their 
testimony  did  not  agree.  His  disciples  had 
fled.  But  Peter  and  another  disciple  followed 
Him,  not  daring  to  be  with  Him  and  known 

10 — 2 


1 48  LENTEN  THOUGHTS 

as  His,  but  appearing  as  if  drawn  by  curiosity, 
and  indifferent  to  His  fate.  Think  of  Him 
in  such  terrible  desertion,  and  unite  your 
heart  with  His. 

ii. 

Jesus,  so  solitary  and  friendless,  calls  for 
all  our  compassion  ; for  what  mental  pain 
can  be  greater  than  that  of  suddenly  finding 
one’s  self  without  a single  friend,  and  sur- 
rounded by  all  the  enmity  that  envy  and 
malice  can  bring  ? But  this  is  not  all. 
When  the  high  priest  exclaimed  that  He 
had  blasphemed,  they  began  to  spit  upon 
Him ; they  covered  His  eyes,  and  struck 
Him,  and  in  irony  bade  Him  tell  who  it  was 
that  had  done  the  infamous  deed.  Who  can 
tell  what  consolation  it  would  have  afforded 
Jesus  if  some  friendly  voice  had  whispered  a 
word  of  comfort  to  His  poor  wounded  Heart? 
If  He  could  have  seen  some  well-known  face 
looking  upon  Him  with  a kindly  and  affec- 
tionate glance  ? Is  there  not  one  to  give 
Him  a reassuring  pressure  of  the  hand  ? 
Not  one  ! But  hark  ! There  is  at  last  the 
voice  of  one  whom  He  knows  and  loves  full 
well — one  who  has  said  that  though  he  should 
die  with  Him,  he  never  would  deny  Him. 
May  we  not  hope  for  some  comfort  for  Him 
now  ? Vain  hope ! Peter  denies  Him ; 
nay,  curses  and  swears  that  he  does  not  know 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS  149 

Him.  Can  it  be  possible,  my  Jesus  ! that  it 
has  come  to  this  ? Is  this  all  that  Thou 
hearest  from  Thy  chosen  Apostle  ? 

hi. 

When  Jesus  heard  Peter  deny  Him,  and 
even  curse  and  swear  that  he  knew  Him  not, 
He  did  not  reproach  the  Apostle,  but  St.  Luke 
tells  us,  in  a few  moving  words,  that  ‘ the 
Lord,  turning,  looked  on  Peter/  This  was 
sufficient  to  strike  remorse  into  Peter’s  heart; 
he  remembered  what  Jesus  had  said  to  him 
before,  and  ‘ going  out,  wept  bitterly.’ 
Imagine  that  look  of  Jesus,  so  full  of  plaintive 
tenderness  and  love.  How  the  sight  of  that 
sad,  pale,  bruised,  and  disfigured  face  affected 
the  poor  Apostle  ! Let  me  reflect  on  all  the 
share  I had  in  this  painful  scene  by  my  sins, 
which  were  present  to  the  mind  of  Jesus  by 
His  foreknowledge.  Let  me  also  think  how  I 
may  show  my  sympathy  with  Him,  and  ob- 
tain grace  for  myself,  by  making  use  of  oppor- 
tunities of  imitating  Him.  It  is  very  painful 
to  me  when  I know  that  people  are  ashamed 
of  being  acquainted  with  me  ; when  I know 
that  they  have  spoken  slightingly  or  insolently 
about  me  ; when  anyone  whom  I love,  and 
have  favoured,  and  have  looked  upon  as  a 
friend,  talks  against  me  behind  my  back.  It 
is  a terrible  shock  to  find  suddenly  that  one 


150  LENTEN  THOUGHTS 

whom  I have  trusted  acts  in  such  a way  as  to 
forfeit  my  confidence,  because  he  finds  that 
others  are  against  me.  It  is  perhaps  still 
harder  when  I accidentally  overhear  my 
trusted  friend  speaking  ill  of  me  with  words 
of  contempt  or  insult,  when  he  ought  to 
defend  me.  My  heart  and  feelings  are  deeply 
wounded ; yet  perhaps  I really  deserve  it. 
Jesus  did  not  deserve  it ; yet  He  was  patient 
and  kind.  Have  I been  so  under  such  cir- 
cumstances ? Have  I thought  of  offering 
up  such  injuries  to  Him  in  reparation  for  my 
share  in  His  sufferings,  and  in  affectionate 
sympathy  with  Him  ? 

O my  dear  Lord  Jesus  ! I unite  my  heart 
with  Thine  in  Thy  most  bitter  desertion  by 
Thy  friends ; I will  try  to  comfort  Thee  by 
my  faithful  attachment  to  Thee.  Oh,  give 
me  grace  to  bear  all  injuries,  especially  those 
which  come  from  such  as  ought  to  be  my 
friends,  with  charity  and  with  resignation. 
Pater,  Ave,  Gloria. 

®eiine0iiajj  in 

The  Passion  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ , 
accordmg  to  St.  Luke  xxii.  and  xxiii. 

See  our  dear  Lord  Jesus,  loaded  with  a 
heavy  cross,  toiling  along  the  pathway  towards 
Calvary.  He  meets  a number  of  people  and 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS  151 

of  women,  who  bewail  His  fate.  Look  upon 
Him  and  hear  His  words. 


1. 

I imagine  myself  near  the  walls  of  Jeru- 
salem: my  heart  loves  Jesus;  I know  partially 
what  is  going  on  in  the  city ; I hear  horrible 
cries  which  are  echoed  through  the  streets, 
and  are  re-echoed  by  the  height  of  Calvary, 
I listen,  and  I hear  the  fearful  words,  ‘ Crucify 
Him  ! crucify  Him  !’  Is  it  Jesus  whom  they 
would  crucify  ? No ; it  must  be  Barabbas,  the 
rebel  and  the  murderer.  I hear  his  name  : 
Barabbas  ! Barabbas  ! Surely  they  are  lead- 
ing him  to  execution,  and  the  sweet,  pure, 
innocent  Lamb  of  God,  so  guiltless  and  so 
patient,  is  released ! The  procession  leaves 
the  city  walls,  and  what  do  I see  ? Sur- 
rounded by  soldiers,  by  rough  and  cruel  men 
who  strike  Him  and  urge  Him  onward, 
carrying  upon  His  poor  bruised  shoulders  a 
rude  heavy  cross,  well-nigh  sinking  beneath 
the  burden,  is  my  Brother,  my  Friend,  my 
Father,  my  Saviour,  my  God  ! A crown  of 
thorns  is  upon  His  brow,  and  the  blood 
streams  down  His  sacred  cheeks,  mixed  with 
tears.  Was  ever  sight  more  piteous  ? Who 
has  done  this,  O Jesus  ? I,  I have  done  it  by 
my  sins  ! Oh  ! woe  is  me,  that  ever  I should 
have  sinned  ! 


152 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


But  who  are  these  who  meet  Him  on  the 
way  to  Calvary  ? ‘ A great  multitude  of 

people,  and  of  women  who  bewailed  and 
lamented  Him.’  I hear  their  sobs  and  woful 
sighs.  God  bless  those  faithful  hearts.  I 
hear  their  cries,  and  feel  how  all  their 
lamentation  goes  straight  to  the  Sacred  Heart 
of  Jesus.  This  sad  sorrowing  is  even  a 
cheerful  sound  amid  the  curses  and  blas- 
phemies, and  injuries  of  every  kind  that  are 
heaped  upon  Him  ! Oh  ! good,  kind  hearts! 
weep  on  for  Jesus.  I would  that  my  hard 
and  dry  heart  could  weep  with  yours  ! Why 
do  I not  shed  tears  of  blood  for  Him,  my 
love,  my  only  good  ? He  speaks  ! The 
sweet  victim  led  to  the  slaughter  speaks ! 
‘ Daughters  of  Jerusalem,  weep  not  for  Me.’ 
O dear  words  ! O loving  Heart  of  Jesus  ! 
Thou  hast  annihilated  Thyself,  and  Thou 
seemest  to  forget  Thyself.  ‘Not  for  Me.’ 
‘ Let  Me  suffer  all.  I am  willing.  I came 
into  the  world  to  suffer.  Do  not  weep  for 
Me .’  O Jesus  ! Thou  wilt  break  my  heart 
if  Thou  speakest  thus.  Why  should  I not 
weep  for  Thee  ? Why  may  I not  lament  Thy 
bitter  pains  ? 

hi. 

‘ Weep  not  for  Me,  but  for  yourselves  and 
for  your  children.’  Ah  ! here  is  the  key  to 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


153 


all.  It  is  Thy  love  for  us  which  makes  Thee 
forget  Thyself.  ‘ Weep  for  yourselves.’  Oh  ! 
the  unselfish  Heart  of  Jesus,  which  in  the 
midst  of  its  pains  thinks  only  of  the  children 
of  men,  and  of  the  punishments  which  will 
fall  upon  them  ! How  unlike  Jesus  I am, 
while  I profess  to  follow  Him,  and  to  have 
Him  for  my  only  Guide.  Whatever  I suffer, 
I suffer  justly,  because  I deserve  it,  and  be- 
cause it  is  God’s  will.  And  yet,  although  I 
know  this,  I murmur,  and  want  all  men  to 
sympathize  with  me.  I do  not  think  of  suffer- 
ing for  Jesus’  sake ; still  less  of  enduring 
anything  for  other  men.  Yet  Jesus  bore  ail 
for  us,  and  would  not  have  those  good  women 
to  weep  for  Him.  He  thought  of  them  and 
of  their  children,  and  forgot  Himself. 

O Jesus  my  Lord,  the  love  of  my  heart,  I 
sympathize  with  Thee  and  love  Thee.  And 
I resolve  that,  by  Thy  grace,  I will  bear 
patiently  all  crosses  and  trials  for  Thy  sweet 
sake,  and  that  for  the  love  of  Thee  I will 
think  more  of  my  neighbour’s  sufferings  and 
misfortunes  than  of  my  own.  Give  me  grace 
to  be  unselfish.  Pater,  Ave,  Gloria. 

^humbajn 

Gospel. — St.John  xiii.  1-15. 

Picture  to  yourself  Jesus  Christ,  with  sweet 
humility,  passing  from  Apostle  to  Apostle 


154 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


after  the  Last  Supper,  and  washing  their 
feet. 

i. 

Consider  the  words  of  the  Gospel  which 
tell  us  that  ‘ Jesus  knowing  that  His  hour  was 
come,  that  He  should  pass  out  of  this  world 
to  the  Father;  having  loved  His  own  who  were 
in  the  world,  He  loved  them  even  to  the  end.’ 
Jesus  knew  perfectly  that  the  time  of  His 
sufferings  and  death  was  at  hand.  The  whole 
future  was  distinctly  before  His  mind  ; all  the 
pains  and  insults  He  was  to  endure  in  soul 
and  body  ; all  the  terrible  crimes  that  in  the 
next  few  hours  would  be  committed  against 
the  eternal  Majesty  of  Heaven,  He  not  only 
knew  that  He  was  to  die  upon  the  cross,  but 
also  that  He  would  rise  again  triumphantly 
from  the  dead,  and  that,  by  a glorious  Ascen- 
sion, He  would  go  up  to  heaven,  and  sit  at 
the  right  hand  of  God  the  Father  Almighty. 
Knowing  that  He  was  thus  drawing  towards 
the  time  of  His  departure  from  the  world,  He 
wished  to  give  to  His  Apostles  a lesson  on 
the  preparation  for  their  own  departure,  and, 
through  His  Apostles,  an  example  to  all 
Christians.  And  so  He  makes  a manifesta- 
tion of  the  two  great  virtues  of  Charity  and 
Humility  ; of  highest  Charity  in  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  Holy  Eucharist,  and  of 
Humility  in  washing  the  feet  of  the  Apostles. 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


155 


As  we  advance  in  life,  and  inevitably  draw 
nearer  to  the  time  of  our  departure  from  the 
world,  do  we  increase  in  these  sublime  virtues? 
Let  me  examine  and  see  if  my  love  of  God 
and  of  my  neighbour  in  God  and  for  God  is 
greater  now  than  formerly.  Do  I constantly 
keep  before  my  eyes  the  great  fact  that  I am 
to  die  soon  ; and  in  contemplation  of  this 
certain  fact,  am  I careful  to  keep  my  soul  in 
such  a condition  that  it  is  fit  to  go  to  the 
Father,  to  pass  clearly  through  the  awful 
judgment,  and  to  enjoy  the  love  of  God  and 
the  happiness  of  heaven  for  ever  ? Is  it  my 
constant  occupation  to  enrich  my  soul  with 
the  virtues  of  Charity  and  Humility? 


11. 

4 Having  loved  His  own  . . . He  loved 
them  to  the  end.’  There  is  no  cessation  of 
His  love.  He  went  on  ever  loving  them. 
No  thought  of  Himself  ever  put  the  love  of 
them  out  of  His  Heart.  All  the  persecutions 
He  had  to  endure  during  His  mission  never 
caused  Him  for  one  instant  to  pause  or  grow 
cool  in  His  deep  love.  Through  all  the 
melancholy  stages  of  His  sacred  Passion,  His 
love  for  them  burned  most  ardently  in  His 
soul.  It  was  this  very  love  of  His  creatures 
that  caused  Him  to  pass  through  such  a sea 
of  suffering,  and  which  pursued  Him  and 


\$6  LENTEN  THOUGHTS 

surrounded  Him  even  to  the  end,  when  He 
hung  upon  the  Cross,  and  looked  forth  from 
that  tree  of  death  upon  the  upturned  faces 
of  that  fearful  crowd.  If  we  could  see  the 
Sacred  Heart  of  Jesus,  we  should  behold  it 
beating  to  the  end  with  the  love  of  us ; if 
we  could  feel  it,  we  should  find  it  all  aglow 
with  love.  Is  my  conduct  like  that  of  Jesus? 
And  yet  He  tells  me  in  this  Gospel  that  His 
acts  are  my  example.  How  often  has  it  not 
happened  to  me  that  trials  infinitely  less  than 
those  of  Jesus,  crosses  far  less  heavy  than 
His,  have  caused  me  to  grow  slack  in  the 
love  of  God  and  my  neighbour  ? Have  I 
never  neglected  my  duty  to  God  or  man, 
urging  as  an  excuse  for  my  neglect  that  my 
mind  was  disturbed  or  in  suffering  ? Is  this 
loving  God  to  the  end?  Is  this  imitating 
Jesus  ? 

hi. 

If  Jesus  loved  us  to  the  end,  that  is  even 
unto  death,  so  that  He  died  for  the  love  of 
us,  He  also  loved  us  to  the  end  of  love; 
that  is,  He  could  not  love  us  more  than  He 
did.  He  loved  us  to  the  perfection  of  love. 
His  love  is  so  great  that  there  can  be  no 
greater  love.  There  is  nothing  wanting  to 
His  love ; it  cannot  go  farther ; it  cannot  by 
any  possibility  be  added  to,  because  it  is 
infinite.  It  has  no  bounds,  and  fills  up  all 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


»57 


God's  immeasurable  power  of  loving.  Then, 
besides  loving  us  as  God,  He  loves  us  with 
all  the  immense  love  of  His  entirely  perfect 
and  pure  human  nature.  What  a return  of 
love  does  this  demand  from  me ! 

Jesus,  my  loving  Lord  and  Saviour,  who 
hast  told  us  that  men  should  know  that  we 
are  Thy  disciples  if  we  love  one  another, 
give  me  grace  to  increase  hourly  in  the  love 
of  Thee  above  all  things,  and  of  my  neigh- 
bour  as  myself.  Pater,  Ave,  Gloria. 

(Serai  Jfribm 

7 he  Passion  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
according  to  St.  John  xviii.  and  xix. 

Throw  yourself  in  spirit  at  the  foot  of  the 
Cross  on  Mount  Calvary,  and  contemplate 
Jesus  dying  for  the  love  of  you. 


1. 

The  foot  of  the  Cross  is  the  fitting  place 
for  a Christian  soul,  for  where  its  love  is, 
there  it  ought  to  be.  And  the  truth  of  love 
is  tested  when  the  object  of  it  is  in  suffering 
or  disgrace.  What  should  I have  done,  and 
where  should  I have  been,  if  I were  one  of 
the  friends  of  Jesus  at  that  terrible  time? 
Should  I have  had.  the  courage  to  face  the 
obloquy  which  attended  Him,  and  which  was 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


158 

reflected  upon  His  friends  ? Should  I have 
dared,  when  so  many  fled  away,  to  have  re- 
mained with  Him,  and  to  have  expressed  my 
sympathy  and  my  undying  affection  for  Him  ? 
If  I consider  my  conduct,  I can  scarcely  con- 
clude that  I should  have  been  more  courageous 
than  the  disciples.  I am  so  often  deterred 
from  my  duty  by  what  the  world  says,  and 
I think  so  much  of  the  opinion  of  others, 
especially  of  those  whom  my  cool  reason 
tells  me  are  unworthy  of  being  considered. 
Do  I not  dread  to  go  against  the  indifferent 
and  the  bad,  more  than  I respect  the  opinions 
and  follow  the  advice  of  the  good  and  virtuous? 
Let  me  conceive  a just  indignation  against  my- 
self for  my  cowardice  and  want  of  principle. 
I will  ever  keep  the  sight  of  Jesus  crucified 
before  my  eyes,  that  I may  never  be  ashamed 
of  the  Cross. 

11. 

If  I look  upon  my  crucified  Saviour,  what 
do  I see  ? That  dear  head,  erewhile  so  comely 
and  so  full  of  heavenly  beauty,  now  hanging 
forward,  now  thrown  back  in  racking  agony. 
The  brow  is  pierced  by  long,  cruel  thorns;  the 
fair  hair  matted  with  blood.  Those  eyes 
whose  glance  was  love,  and  purity,  and  bless- 
ing, are  heavy  with  fever  pains,  blinded  with 
streams  of  blood,  glazed  with  coming  death. 
Those  lips  that  have  spoken  words  of  salva- 


LENTEN  THOUGHTS 


159 

tion,  and  truth,  and  healing  of  soul  and  body, 
are  parched  and  cracked  with  unbearable 
thirst.  Those  hands  whose  touch  had  cured 
the  blind,  and  raised  the  dead  to  life,  are 
nailed  outstretched  upon  the  Cross.  Those 
blessed  feet  which  sanctified  the  earth  they 
trod  upon,  which  had  borne  Him  in  His 
journeys  through  the  land  when  He  went 
about  doing  good,  transfixed  with  horrid  nails, 
are  fastened  to  the  Cross.  The  whole  of  that 
weary,  wounded  body  hangs  heavily  by  those 
hands  and  feet ; and  all  the  while  His  sacred, 
priceless  Blood  falls  drop  by  drop  upon  the 
ground.  What  pangs  shoot  through  the  tender 
flesh  of  the  most  perfect  and  sensitive  body 
that  ever  was  created  ! What  a death-bed  is 
this  for  Jesus,  the  Son  of  God,  the  love  of 
my  heart  ! 

hi. 

There  was  a tenderness  in  the  Heart  of 
Jesus,  which  all  His  pains  could  not  sup- 
press, and  in  the  midst  of  His  most  bitter 
agony  and  dying,  a manifestation  of  it  was 
called  forth  by  the  sight  of  His  Mother  and 
the  disciple  ‘ whom  He  loved.’  Whether  hei 
face  was  turned  towards  Him  in  bitter  grief, 
or  hidden  in  speechless  woe,  the  sight  of  her, 
to  whom  He  was  such  a perfect  Son,  and  the 
knowledge  of  her  intense  suffering,  was  a most 
bitter  drop  in  the  chalice  of  His  affliction. 


i6o  LENTEN  THOUGHTS 

How  those  two  hearts  must  have  spoken  to 
each  other  in  that  moment ! What  thoughts 
must  have  flown  from  the  Cross  to  Mary,  and 
from  Mary  to  the  Cross  1 Mother  and  Son 
thus  silently  communing  at  such  a death- 
bed ! But  Jesus  speaks;  and  He  gives  her 
to  St.  John,  and  St.  John  to  her,  to  be  as 
Mother  and  Son  to  one  another.  Spiritual 
writers  tell  us  that  by  this  act  He  gave  her  to 
us  all,  and  all  of  us  to  her.  We  are  the  legacy 
that  He  left  to  her  at  this  supreme  moment. 
She  will  never  forget  it.  Let  us  remember  it, 
and  endeavour  to  requite  this  tenderness  of 
the  Sacred  Heart,  by  loving  her  whom  He 
gave  to  us,  and  through  devotion  to  her,  by 
being  brought  nearer  to  Him,  even  though 
we  have  to  go  with  her  to  the  very  foot  of 
the  Cross. 

O my  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  hast  re- 
deemed me  by  Thy  precious  Blood,  give  me 
grace  ever  to  adhere  to  Thee,  and  to  Thy 
law,  and  to  Thy  love,  whatever  pains  of  soul 
or  body  I may  have  to  endure.  Give  me  a 
great  love  of  Thy  sacred  Passion,  a longing 
desire  ever  to  be  with  Thee ; and  as  a means 
to  this  let  me  always  cherish  a deep  love  and 
devotion  to  Thy  blessed  Mother  and  mine. 
Pater,  Ave,  Gloria. 


R.  AND  T.  WASHBOURNE.  LTD.,  PATERNOSTER  ROW,  LONDON 


boston  COLLEGE 


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